We are the original, reunited Team Avatar
by Alois Trancy's double
Summary: Modern day Avatar. It's my first one, so please, no hate. :) Read and rate please. :)


**Please read: I am not done with this story, but this is what I have so far. Please read and rate! No hate please!**

**I do not own the charters or powers they have. **

We are the original, reunited, Team Avatar

Chapter 1

Toph

I'm normal. I like normal things. I live a normal life or at least, I used too. Now my world just got interesting. I lost many things along the way, but it was worth it. I also made some new friends. (What did you say Katara? I'm getting ahead f myself?) Ok, I'll start from the beginning.

My name's Tara Richard, or, it WAS until it got changed (that's latter in the story). I'm 15, I'm an only child. I have dark black hair and bright green eyes, or, at least I USED to have green eyes, until they turned gray (again that is later in the story). I have a friend, as in ONE friend. His name is Charlie VanBear (he has a "BEAR" in his name, that's why I hang out with him! Also, she is super nice and the only who will listen to me). Not much to say about my school, Element High. (Not the science elements! The four natural elements, air, earth, water, and fire.) Enough about me, let's get back to the story (Sheesh! Fine Zuko, I'll call it a Legend!) Well, it was a normal day, a Monday (not my favorite day) and I just got home from school. It had been rough, I got stuffed into a locker, again, and just wanted to lie down. To tell the truth, I'm not popular. Never was, and never will be (Oh, shut up Sokka! You weren't that popular either!) So I get pushed around a lot, doesn't help that I'm small for my size either. So, I got home, and my parents were waiting for me, holding my report card that I stuck under the couch. "What's this young lady?" My father asked, holding my report card in the air. "A piece of paper, I'll go recycle it," I grabbed for my report card, but my father pulled it out of my reach, "I thought you were studying! These grades are terrible! C, C, D, C, D, D, and a F! The only good grade you got is in P.E, an A-!" "Wow! An A-! That's amazing!" I said, reaching for the report card again, an again having my father pull it away from me. "Honey, this is for your best, no more skateboarding or video games until you raise these grades," my mother said, reaching for my skateboard which was tucked under my arm. I stepped backwards and held my skateboard like a baby. "No," I said, "you can't take my skateboard!" "I am your father, and I can do whatever I want!" My father ripped my skateboard out of my hands. Crying in front of your parents is so, uncool. So instead of crying, I stomped my foot on the ground and ran to my room. I threw myself on my bed and laid my head in pillow. I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up at midnight. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. What I saw then could not be forgotten. In front of me stood four kids my age. Two of them I recognized from my school, but I didn't recognize the other two. They looked like twins; they both had tan skin, dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. They could have been identical except one was a boy, and the other a girl. I couldn't take my eyes off the boy, which sounds really girl, but I couldn't help it. (Oh, shut up Sokka! I was just, um, surprised!) Then all of a sudden, one of the two boys from my school grabbed me by the hand and said, "Toph Bei-Fong, we have finally found you." I don't know what happened next, all I know is that everything went black.

Chapter 2

Zuko

(Give me the mic. Toph, you talked too much.) Hey, my name is Zuko, it used to be Zack Urella. I have black hair and amber eyes, and I am pretty tall. I am 16 and go to Element High to. I am pretty popular, unlike Toph (ouch! Don't punch me!) I have to admit, entering like that must have been pretty odd, even scary, especially when you call someone by a name that is not there's. But what I said was true, her name was Toph Bei-Fong, and we have been looking for her. You are probably wondering why we called her Toph, and how I found out my name was Zuko. Well, here's the story, I was walking home from school alone. I was walking alone because I got dentition for something I didn't even do. I was about to cross the street, when all of a sudden, a hand grabbed me and pulled me behind a dumpster. She was the most beautiful girl ever (Stop snickering Sokka!) She had black hair like mine, and gray eyes, though I could barley tell because her bangs were covering most of her eyes. Her hair was pulled into a tight pony-tail, with a little hanging out the side. She had a red streak in her hair, and wore red overalls with a black shirt. She looked about 16, like me. "Zack Urella?" she asked, looking at me. "Yeah," I said slowly, wondering how she knew who I was, and what she wanted with me. "No, you're not him," she said, looking away, and then looking me straight in the eye. "Yes, I am," I said, wondering who this girl was. "No, your Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation," she said, staring at me. "Who?" I asked, looking at her oddly, "and who are you?" She looked away embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she said, blushing, "I am Mai; I go to your school." "How come I don't see you around?" I tried to recall seeing her in school, but nothing came up. "I'm new," Mai said, "and I have something very important to tell you." "Must be, since we are behind a dumpster," I said sarcastically. "Oh, shut up you," she said, giving me a hint of a smile. "Well, go ahead and tell me the important information," I said. "I can't exactly tell you," Mai said, suddenly getting serious. "Then how I am supposed to know what it is! And who is this Prince Zuko person you told me about?" "I have to show you." Mai stood up and walked closer to me. She smelled like a Tiger Lilly (Shut up Aang! This is my story not yours!) She put her thumb on my forehead and her pointer finger on my head. She closed her eyes, and before I could say anything, I saw images. A young boy, knocking a young girl in a fountain. The scene changed, the same young boy was sitting by a pond with a woman that looked like his mother. Then I saw the young boy shoot fire out of his hands, and I saw a little girl upstage him. It changed again to where the little boy's mother left. Years must have passed because the little boy grew up into a young man, about my age. He looked like me. I saw him get burned, and he had scar on his left eye. I saw him get banished, and travel with his Uncle. Later, he joined with a boy, with a blue arrow on his head. He taught him to shoot fire out of his hands. He later became the… the… fire lord.

The images stopped and I found myself lying on the ground. Mai was standing above me. "Who are you?" She asked me, looking at me. "I am Zuko, the banished prince of the fire nation, and the new fire lord," I replied, getting up and feeling my left eye. It had a scar, I smiled. "Good," Mai said, "now go find the others." "Others?" I asked, looking at her. "You must find Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Toph, and help them remember their past," Mai explained. "You mean they are all here too?" "Yes and where there are good guys, there are the evil ones," Mai said, looking at me with concern. "Azula," I said, remembering the little girl in my visions. "Yes," Mai said, "you're little sister."

Chapter 3

Aang

(My turn?) Hello, my name is Aang, though you probably already knew that. Let me tell you what I look like. I have shaggy brown hair and gray eyes. I am also 15 years old, like Toph. I was the first person Zuko found, and I helped him find Katara and Sokka. I was glad I was there to help find Katara because as soon as I saw her, I knew she was the one. Apparently my past life and her past life were, ahem, romantically involved. (Don't look at me like that Sokka, it's not my fault she is so beautiful!) We were walking down the street, as in we, I mean Zuko and I, and we saw these two kids walking the opposite way. Those weren't Sokka and Katara; they were the people behind them. They were at the bus stop waiting to get on the bus, and that's when Zuko and I sprang into action. I grabbed Katara and Zuko grabbed Sokka. We dragged them behind Water High, which is where they go to school, and threw them on the ground. "What's the big idea?" Sokka yelled, looking at us, "why did you bring us here?" Katara lie on the ground, stunned. It looked like she was, looking at me. "D-do I know you?" She asked, still looking at me. "You will," I said, looking to her, then Zuko. Zuko stepped closer to Katara and put his thumb on her forehead, and his pointing finger in her hair. He closed his eyes, and Katara's eyes went wide. "No," Sokka screamed, he lunged towards Katara. I pulled him back and held him down. I had to use all my strength to keep him down. When I thought I couldn't keep him down any longer, Zuko backed away from Katara. Katara closed her eyes and shook her head. "Terry, are you ok?" Sokka went over to Katara and looked at her. "I'm not Terry," she said, "I'm Katara." Sokka looked at his sister then at Zuko. "What have you done to her?" he said, his voice barley a whisper. "Just calm down," Zuko said, stepping towards Sokka. "No, I won't calm down, you just brainwashed my sister!" Sokka backed away from Zuko, only to run into me. I held him down, and Katara came to my side to help me. Zuko placed his hand on Sokka's head, and started feeding him the vision's of his past life. Katara looked at me, "Aang is that really you?" Tears filled her eyes. "Yeah it's me," I said smiling at her. Katara threw herself at me, and kissed me on the lips. Then she pulled herself away awkwardly. "Sorry," she said, blushing, "it's probably too soon for that." "No," I said, leaning closer to her, "it's fine." I was about to kiss her again, but a sudden shadow appeared over me. "What do you think you're doing with my sister?" Sokka asked, looking down at me. "Um, nothing Sokka," I said, backing away from Katara. "You better not be kissing her, because if you do, I will throw my boomerang at you," Sokka said, smiling playfully.

Chapter 4

Sokka

(Remind me to throw my boomerang at you for kissing my sister Aang .) Sokka here, guess I don't to explain what I look like because Toph took care of that. (Wipe that grin off your face Toph!) As you know, Katara and I are twins. We are 15, and go to Water High. I have the fourth person to be found. Yes, Katara was found before me. I have to admit, I was, um, surprised to when I saw Toph. I've had two girl friends before, Yue and Suki, but sadly, neither of those relationships worked out. Toph was one of the most awesome girls I ever saw. Normal girls usually wear skirts, skinny jeans, those shirts they wear, I don't know what they're fashion is! But Toph was different. She wore a backwards baseball cap and khaki shorts and green converses. She wore a yellow tank top with a green circle in the middle; she had her hair down, her side bangs covering her right eye. She looked like… a guy. Not a bad type of guy though, like a girl who hangs with guys sort of guy. I guess to say Toph looked, kind of, cute. (Stop looking at me like that Katara! I can have a crush too.) I was about to say something to Toph, but Zuko stepped in the way and made her faint. (No, sorry is not enough Zuko.) When Toph fainted I rushed to her side, even though I didn't know this girl, my past life knew her, so it felt like I knew her. I was the one to carry Toph to our new home, which is an abandoned Country Club. It's pretty homey, and big. We each get our own room, and there is a pool for Katara to practice water bending. Yeah we have to re-learn our bending, but hey, I'm off the hook! All I need to do is find my boomerang and I'm all set. When we arrived at the country club, I brought Toph into her room, and laid her on her make-shift bed. We don't exactly have beds yet, all we have is the couches, chairs, and pool loungers they left. Katara sleeps on one of the couches, Aang sleeps on two chairs pulled together, and Zuko and I sleep on two pool loungers. Toph's bed is a couch, and her room is am old conference room. I felt bad about her fainting, and I was afraid of what might happen when she woke up in some strange place.

Chapter 5

Katara

Katara here, and it's true, I did kiss Aang when I became my past life. I couldn't help myself, and I don't know why. (Sokka, stop looking at me like that. You can't control who I love.) So, we basically scared Toph to death, brought her to our "home" and put her in her room. After that I basically crashed. It's been a though week, looking for Toph can be hard. After I went into my room, I fell asleep; I was awoken by footsteps in the hall. At first I thought it was nothing, but then they got louder. I stood up, and opened my door just enough to see outside. I saw a dark figure pass in front of my door and walk down the hall. It stopped at Toph's door and went inside. I didn't know what else to do but follow. I tip-toed down the hall and stopped at her door. I counted to three, and flung open the door.

Sokka looked up at me with surprise, and then put his figure over his mouth and looked at the sleeping form of Toph. He looked at me again and I saw in his eyes what he was doing here. I nodded and also looked at Toph. I knew that, like Sokka, she was going to freak out when she saw where she was. Sokka was there to calm her down when she woke up. I silently walked back to the door, and shut it behind me. I walked back to my room, and lie down on my bed and automatically, fell asleep.

Chapter 6

Toph

I woke up in some strange place. It wasn't my room, or Charlie's couch. I looked around and found that mysterious boy I saw the night before asleep against the wall. I got up and tip-toed to the door, and walked out into the hall. "Your awake," I jumped and turned around to find one of the boys from my school leaning against the wall. "Yeah," I said slowly looking at him, "I am." "I'll go tell Zuko," he said, already walking down the hall. "Wait," I said, running towards him, "I have three questions." "Ok, ask away," he said, crossing his arms. "Ok, one, where am I. Two, who are you, and three, who is Zuko." "You are in your new home, my name is Aang, and you will found out who Zuko is in just a moment," Aang said, walking down the hall. I ran next to him, "My new home?" "Yeah, this is your new home, hope you like it," Aang said, turning the corner. I avoided running into the wall, "why can't I live with my parents. I don't want to live here Aang, I want to go home." "We have to stay together," Aang said, opening a door, "please, just be patient and everything will make sense." He gestured for me to go inside. I walked through the doors into a big room. It looked like some kind of lobby. I expected Aang to follow, but he just shut the door behind me. "So it's true, you are awake." I turned to find the other boy from my school sitting in one of the chairs. He had a giant scar over his left eye. "How many times do I have to say it? Can't you tell that I'm awake?" I said, looking at him. "You could be sleep walking," he said, getting up. "What do you want of me?" He walked over to me, "kneel down." "Um, excuse me? I don't kneel down to anyone," I said, staring up at him. "Fine, then just sit down," he said, pointing to the chair he was in. "Fine," I said, sitting down in the chair. "By the way, the names Zuko," He said, standing behind me. "Nice to meet you Zuko, now can you tell me what you are doing?" "Giving you your memory, and giving you back something," Zuko said, placing his hand on my head. "What are you…?" Before I could finish my sentence, I started seeing visions. A little girl being hidden away from everyone, her parents kept her a secret from the world. Years passed and the same girl grew into a 12 year old looked just like me, only blind. She was fighting by, throwing rocks. She held the championship belt above her head. A young boy pushed her out of the ring without even touching her. Later she was caught in a box, and fought her way through. She joined the young boy and his two friends. She later learned how to, how do I say this, bend metal? Yeah, that's it. She learned how to bend metal. She soon helped her friends stop a war, the 100 year war.

I dropped to the floor. My breathing was hard, but something else was wrong."I can't see!" I tried rubbing my eyes, and closing them and opening them. Nothing worked. "What did you do?" I looked around the room, trying to find Zuko. "Take off your shoes," he said. "Why should I do what you say? You took away my sight," I said, feeling my way to the door. "I said; take your shoes off, Toph." All of a sudden it became clear to me. I was Toph Bei-Fong, the greatest Earth Bender alive. I am also known as the Blind Bandit, the Runaway, and Melon Lord. I took my shoes off, and all of a sudden I could see with my feet. "I can see! With my feet. I feel the vibrations of the Earth, so I can somehow see. Especially when everything moves," I said. I threw my hands in the air, and the stone floor responded. A big chunk of it flew in the air. "I can still Earth Bend!" I exclaimed, slamming the chunk back down in the ground. "Who are you?" Zuko asked. "My name is Toph Bei-Fong .I am the best Earth Bender to walk on the Earth. I invented Metal Bending. Only kid of the Bei-Fong family, also known as the Blind Bandit, the Runaway, and Melon Lord. Muhahaha!" I threw my head back and let out a long evil laugh.

Chapter 7

Zuko

Finally! I finally got the team back. Now we must all relearn our bending. Fun. No, not fun. It's not really easy. We have a blind a girl, and even though she can see with her feet, she still has trouble. As soon as we left the room, she ran into the wall. This is going to be harder than I thought. We don't have much time until Azula finds us. We have about six months to set up a plan and learn our bending. It takes years to master your element. Sadly, one of us is the Avatar, master if all four elements. Why is this sad? As I said, we have six months, it takes years to master one element, and one of us has to master all FOUR elements. As you can tell, one of us already has their element down. Who you ask. I'm going to answer that with two question. Which one of us can see with Bending? Which one of us can already Bend? You got it Toph. (Ok, fine, Melon Lord.)

After I restored Toph's memory, I gathered everyone in the main room. "Nice to "see" you guys," Toph said, punching everyone on the arm. "Good to see you too Toph," Sokka said, rubbing his arm. "I gathered you here today," I said looking at everyone. "Be more upbeat Zuko," Aang said, looking at me, "you sound like you called us here to tell us someone died." I took a deep breath, "it's not time for games, Aang. I have something very important to tell you." I looked around at everyone's face, "I am here to discuss who the Avatar is." Aang shot right up, "oh, you guys! You don't need to introduce me like that. We all know I'm the Avatar." I pushed Aang down to a sitting position on the ground. "I'm sorry Aang, but you're not the Avatar."

Chapter 8

Aang

"What?!" I yelled, looking at Zuko. "You're not the Avatar. Air Nomads are not the next Nation in the cycle," Zuko said, looking me in the eye. "Well who is the Avatar?" I asked looking at everyone in the room. Zuko didn't look at me. He pointed across the room, to Toph. She was bending a quarter in half with Metal Bending. "Her?" I screamed at Zuko. "Yes, her," Zuko said, still avoiding eye contact, "Earth Kingdom is the next in the cycle. She also already can bend Earth and Metal. She just got her memory of her past life today. She is the Avatar." I looked dumb- founded at Toph. She must have sensed me because she threw a rock at me. "What was that for?" I yelled, still upset that this girl, one of my old friends, replaced me as the Avatar. "I know your mad Aang," she said, getting up, "but it's not our choice who is the Avatar. It's not my fault I can already bend. It's not Zuko's that he is right that Earth is next cycle." I looked into her grey eyes, noticing that you could barely see her pupils. "What's with your eyes?" I asked, looking at her. "Don't you remember Twinkle Toes? I'm blind," Toph said, pointing at her eyes. "Do you really have to call me Twinkle Toes?" I asked, remembering her old nick name for me. "Yes," she said, smiling, "like to good old days." Katara got up and put her arms around me, "it's going to be ok, it really doesn't matter who the Avatar is." I don't know why, but her voice calmed me down completely. "Your right," I said smiling, "at least I don't have to learn all four elements in six months." "Wait," Toph said, "looking" at me, "I have to learn the other three elements in six months?" "Yeah," I said, "six months." "Well, this is going to be a big challenge," she said, bending and unbending her quarter. "Good luck," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder and smiling at her. She swept my hand off her shoulder and left the room. "What's her problem?" Sokka asked, sitting up on the couch. "Being the Avatar is a tough job," I said, looking at the doorway Toph just walked through, "she has a lot of pressure on her. It's best to just leave her alone and if she wants to talk, she'll bring it up. Right now we have to concentrate on learning our bending and finding your boomerang, Sokka." "That's right! Good old boomerang, or even better, Space Sword," Sokka said, jumping off the couch. "We also need to find my Meteor Bracelet." I almost screamed when Toph said that because I didn't see her walk through the door. "Right," I said, my cheeks turning red, "that too."

Chapter 9

Sokka

A month passed. I stood outside Toph's room, guarding the door. Toph was inside, practicing Earth Bending. She asked me to guard the door so no one would interrupt her. I was nodding off when I heard her scream. As a warrior my first thought was to rush in, and I did. I knocked the door open and saw Toph lying on the ground clutching her hand. I kneeled down next to her, "Toph, what happened?" Toph looked up at me, tears filling her eyes, "I-I was practicing Earth Bending when all of a sudden…" She trailed off and clutched her hand even tighter. I took her hands in mine and opened her hand. I saw deep cuts on her hand. I looked at them, and let out a long sigh. My breath must have touched her hand, because she winced. She pulled her hand away, "ouch. Watch where you're breathing," tears rolled down her cheeks. "Toph," I said, looking at her, "what happened? You have to tell me." "I-I was practicing, like I said. I was lifting a giant rock in the air, when all of a sudden, it exploded. I hit the mirror, or something made of glass, and rock and glass flew at me. I threw my hand out to protect the rest of me," she started sobbing. I put my arm around Toph and pulled her into me. She put her head in my chest and cried harder. Katara ran into the room then, "what happened here? I heard a shriek and came here as fast as I could." She looked from me, to the sobbing Toph, then around the room. The mirror was broken, a big chunk of the floor was gone, and there were scratches all over the walls. The place where Toph was standing had dried blood all over the floor. I explained to Katara on what happened, and she kneeled next to me and Toph. She put her hand on Toph's shoulder. Toph winced and pulled herself away from us. "Toph, what's wrong?" I asked, scooting next to her again. She rolled up her shirt sleeve, and there, on her shoulder, was another giant gnash. "H-how does it look?" she asked, breathing heavily. I noticed something red on her leg, under her pants leg. "Toph," I said, "roll up your left pant leg." She did, and in big letters was _The Avatar must DIE_ carved into her leg. "What is it?" Toph asked, brushing her hand against her leg and wincing. "Toph," Katara said, looking from me to Toph, "I don't think that rock exploded, I think you were attacked!"

Chapter 10

Katara

"Attacked?!" Toph asked, trying to stand, but falling to the ground. Sokka and I rushed to her side and helped her up. "Don't put weight on your leg," I said, "it will only make it hurt even more." I called for Aang and Zuko to help us. We all carried Toph to the main room and laid her on the couch. Sokka ran and grabbed wrap from the first aid kit, and wrapped her leg, shoulder, and hand up. "I wish I already relearned my bending," I said, looking at the ground, "because then I could have healed you." I looked at Toph, and tears filled my eyes. I felt bad for her, she has a lot of pressure on her, and now she's hurt. "Don't worry Katara," Toph said, touching my hand, "I'm a quick healer." I smiled, even though I knew she was hurt. "I hope you heal quickly," Sokka said, "because this is going to put us behind schedule!" "Oh, shut up Sokka," with her good hand, Toph Earth Bended a rock at Sokka. "Hey," Sokka yelled, just barley avoiding the rock, "watch where you're throwing rocks!" "Well maybe you should shut your trap about the schedule," Toph said, sitting up with her good hand."Maybe I will, maybe I won't," Sokka said, crossing his arms. "I hope you will," Toph said, looking in his direction, "and you better not be crossing your arms!" Sokka rolled his eyes, "I am, and now I am rolling my eyes at you." "That's it!" Toph Bended another giant rock at Sokka, he jumped out of the way. He threw a book at Toph. If it wasn't for me, Toph would have been hit in the head. I jumped and grabbed the book, "stop it you two! You are acting like little kids!" "He started it," Toph said, pointing at Sokka (ok, not exactly at Sokka, but close enough). "No, you started it!" Sokka glared at Toph. "Stop it," I said, looking from Sokka to Toph, and then back to Sokka, "I want you guys to apologize to each other." "I'm sorry," they both muttered under their breath. "No, no, no," I said, "you have to mean it." "You want me to mean it?" Sokka asked me. "Yes," I said, looking at him, "you have to mean it." "Fine," Sokka said, walking over to Toph. He pushed her hand down, and grabbed her good shoulder. "Sokka," Toph said, her cheeks turning bright red, "W-what are you doing?" "Making sure you know I mean this apology." Sokka pulled Toph into him and kissed her. Aang dropped the book he was reading, Zuko looked away, and my jaw dropped. Toph's eyes were wide, and he tensed up, but after a while, she relaxed and closed her eyes. After a while, she pulled herself away. Sokka smiled at her, "do you accept my apology?" Toph's cheeks turned bright red again, "yes, yes I do." "Good, you two apologized, but please, don't do that again," I said, pulling Sokka away from Toph.

Chapter 11

Toph

My first kiss was in front of my friends. I blushed probably as red as the dried blood on my floor. Then it finally hit me, my room was ruined. It's gone. "Where am I going to sleep?" I asked Aang and Sokka, the last two people in the room with me. "You'll be sharing a room with Katara," Zuko told me. "Wait," I said, shocked, "I have to share a room with Katara, even though I kissed Sokka in front of her?" "Yeah," Zuko said, getting up to leave the room, "sucks to be you." He left me and Aang alone in the room. "So, um, Aang," I said, trying to start a conversation, "how's your Air bending going?" "No where, I can't even get a balloon to stay in the air," he said, "yours?" "Same here, I didn't even start to tell the truth," I said, feeling the wrapping on my leg. "Does it hurt?" Aang asked, getting up and standing next to me. "Yeah, it hurts a lot," I said, trying to stand up. I was fine until I put weight on my leg. I fell onto Aang, knocking him on the ground. "Ouch," he said, hitting the ground. I landed on top of him, making him groan in pain. "Sorry Aang," I said, rolling off of him, "maybe I should just stay in one place until I can walk again." Aang sat up, "or maybe someone should carry you where you need to go until you can walk again. I bet the floor isn't going to be comfortable in a few hours." I blushed again, "you're probably right." Aang stood up and picked me up, "where would you like to go?" He must have noticed that I was bushing because I felt him getting hotter. "Aang," I asked, laying my head on his chest, "are you blushing?" "What, n-no," he said unsteadily. "You're lying," I said, looking up at him. "No I'm not," he said. "Yes you are, remember, I am the human lie detector," I smiled at him, "and you're really bad at lying." I felt his heart beat change, from fast to relaxed. "Maybe I should work on that," he said, walking to the door way. "Where are we going?" I asked, sometimes being blind can have its downsides. "To your and Katara's room," he said, turning to corner. "Wait," I said, grabbing onto his shirt, "I don't think I'm ready to face Katara yet." "Ok, fine," Aang said, stopping in the hall way, "I guess we'll just sit here until you are ready." He set me own against the wall and sat down next to me. I pulled my good leg up to my chest and put my arm around it. I winced as my hand touché my knee. "Are you ok?" Aang asked, sounding concerned. "Yeah," I said, wincing again, "it's just that my hand hurts." Aang put his hand on my good hand, "it will heal. Like you said, you're a fast healer." I smiled at him, and then blushed again, noticing his hand touching mine. Again, he must have seen me turn red because he heart beat raced again and he grew warmer. I put my head on his shoulder, and we just sat there. Not talking or moving.

Chapter 12

Aang

(Skipping Zuko in this round because he had nothing to do with this part of our tale.)

I knew I was blushing again, but Toph didn't seem to mind. She laid her head on my shoulder. I felt my heart beat grow faster, and I was afraid Toph might feel it, but again, she didn't seem to mind. We were sitting outside Katara and Toph's door. I didn't want to tell Toph because I thought she might start freaking out. After sometime of just sitting there, I got this odd feeling. It was like, I wanted to hug Toph. I wanted to kiss her, to hold her tight and call her mine. I tried to hold it in, but after sometime, I couldn't resist. I shifted myself under Toph so that I was facing her. "What are you doing, Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked, sounding sleepy. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I asked, looking at her. "No, not really, I was taking a little nap," she said, yawning. 'She's about to fall asleep,' I thought, 'I better make my move now, or forever hold my peace.' I leaned in closer to Toph, glad that she was blind. Before she could move away or find out what I was doing, I smacked my lips onto hers. I felt her tense up and try to pull away, but I couldn't let her go. I held her tighter. I grabbed her good hand and enlaced our fingers. I felt her relax, and then she kissed me back. I knew this was risky, we were right outside Katara's door, and Sokka had just kissed Toph, but like I said, I couldn't help myself. I felt Toph put her arms around my neck, and I put both my hands around her waist. I never felt so good in my life, but, I also felt guilty. Toph was Sokka's girl, and, I think Katara might actually like me. When that thought rang in my mind, I pulled away from Toph. "Toph, I-I'm sorry," I said, feeling embarrassed. "Sorry about what?" Toph asked, wiping her mouth. "About kissing you, I know you like Sokka, but, I just couldn't help myself. I like you Toph, no, I love you," I said, looking away from her. She was silent for some time, and I thought she was mad at me. When I was about to leave, she spoke. "No Aang, I'm sorry," she said, looking at her feet, "I-I don't know who I love. I know I will know sometime, but, I don't know now. I think Sokka is just rebounding off of Suki. I think I was just the first girl in hi path. I also think that you are just trying to find a girl because you don't know if Katara loves you or not. I'm sure she does Aang, and if she does, she is one lucky girl. If both of those are true, then I just have to get over it." I saw a tear roll down Toph's cheek, "Toph, t-that's very deep." Toph looked at me and gave me a small smile, "thanks Aang. I think I'm ready to go into my room." I smiled and picked her up, I was about to open the door, but Toph stopped me. "Wait," she said, looking up at me, "I need to tell you something. Come closer." I leaned closer to her, and she grabbed the back of my head with her good hand. She pulled me in to her and kissed me. I kissed her back, and when we separated, she blushed. "I just wanted to kiss you one more time, because it might be my last," she said, "you can take me into the room now.

Chapter 13

Sokka

I was lying on Toph's bed when the door opened. Aang was carrying Toph, and I then remembered that Toph couldn't walk. I rushed over to help, but Aang apparently was able to hold her up without help. He carried her over and laid her on the bed. I sat down next to her and kissed her on the cheek, "are you alright?" "Yeah," she said, smiling at me, "I'm alright." I kissed her gently on her lips, but was pulled away by Katara. "I thought I said no more kissing people in front of me! Especially my friends," She said, glaring at me. "What," I said, "I can't kiss my girlfriend?" I saw Aang turn around and leave the room from the corner of my eye. 'I wonder what's up with him,' I thought. I then saw Toph blush, and she laid her head on my chest. She let out a huge yawn and closed her eyes. "I better go," I said, carefully getting up. Toph was already asleep. "Yeah," Katara said, yawning herself, "I think it's about time we got some shut eye." I walked out of the room, closing the door silently behind me. I walked to mine and Aang's room. I thought Aang would have been asleep, but he was sitting up in his bed. "Something wrong?" I asked, getting under my covers. "N-no," he said unsteadily. "Aang, I know something is bothering you," I said, propping myself up on one elbow, "now come on and tell Wang Fire." Aang touched his lips and smiled, then looked at me. "Where's your beard?" He asked. "I don't have one," I said, "so I am the beardless Wang Fire." "I-I don't know if I want to tell," Aang said, looking at his hands. "Come on Aang," I said, "You're making me feel untrusted." Aang looked at me, then back at his hands, "promise you won't get mad at anyone? Or tell anyone?" "I promise," I said, raising my right hand, "you have my word." Aang touched his lips again and smiled. He looked at me and the smile vanished. "I-I don't know how to say this," he said, looking at me. "Just say it," I said, looking at him. "IkissedTophandwemadeout," he said quickly. "What," I said, "I didn't get any of that." Aang took a deep breath, "I kissed Toph, a-and we made out by Katara's door." He hung his head shamefully. I stared at him, getting angry. How can he do this to me? Why did he kiss my girlfriend? Did Toph really kiss him, or was she forced too? Can I trust either of them? What should I do? Aang looked at me, his eyes full of sorrow, "Sokka, I'm sorry. I don't know what overcame me. We were just talking and then I got this feeling. I didn't want to kiss her, but I felt as if I had too. If you're going to mad at anyone Sokka, be mad at me, leave Toph out of this." I looked at him, then at my hands. "Sokka, say something," Aang said. "How could you?" I asked softly. "I-I didn't know she was you're girlfriend yet. If I knew that, then I wouldn't have kissed her," Aang said, hanging his head. "Aang," I said, looking at him, "I'll forgive you, this ONE time. And only because your friend, I'll forget it too." Aang smiled at me. "I just have one question," I said, giving him a serious look. "Anything," Aang said, looking at me, the smile vanished from his face. "How did it feel? Kissing Toph and all," I asked. Aang felt his lips and thought. We sat there for a while, Aang every now and then feeling his lips. Finally, after I thought he forgot the question, he answered me. "It was wonderful," he said, choosing his words carefully, "you are one lucky dude." "Another question," I said, "how long did you kiss, or make out, with her?" Aang thought for a while, "about a minute or so." "Did she try to pull away?" "Yes," Aang said, "but I held her tighter. I don't know why, but I didn't want to let her go." "Let's just go to sleep now," I said, turning off the light. "Agree," Aang said, yawning. I lay down and closed my eyes. Aang then decided to be annoying; he started making kissing sounds and saying, "Oh, Toph. I LOVE you! I am Sokka and I really LOVE you!" I got up and turned my lamp on. I took my pillow and threw it at him, "shut up and go to sleep." Aang smiled at threw my pillow back, "fine, good night."

Chapter 14

Katara

I woke up the next day to Toph making noises in her bed. It sounded like she was… talking. I quietly got up and walked closer to her. I could make out the words she was saying. "Sokka," she said, turning her head to the right side. "Aang," she said, turning her head to the left side. She threw her hands in the air, and then threw them on her bad leg. She winced in pain, and said, "it hurts, but I have been bad. I deserve this pain." She did it again, even harder. This time she screamed, but did it again any way. And again, and again, and again, hitting her bad leg harder and harder every time. I tried to wake her up, but no matter how hard I tried, she wouldn't wake up. I ran into Sokka and Aang's room, calling for Zuko down the hall. "Help," I yelled, "Toph is hurting herself in her sleep and I can't wake her up!" Sokka and Aang burst out of their room and ran into mine. I ran to Zuko's room and pulled him out of bed. "Zuko," I said, "we need your help. Toph is hurting herself. I can't get her to stop!" Zuko jumped out of bed and grabbed his robe. He put it on while running out the door. I followed him. When we reached mine and Toph's room he flung the door open. I stopped in my tracks. Sokka was pushing Aang's head closer to Toph's. He pushed their lips together, saying, "come on, she mentioned your name too. You already kissed her last night." Aang kissed Toph, and then pulled his lips away. Nothing happened. Zuko rushed over, "what have you guys done so far?" "I kissed her, and Aang kissed her," Sokka said, "and we tried shaking her, but nothing happened." Aang looked over at me and turned bright red, "K-Katara," he said, stammering, "h-how long have y-you been there?" "Enough to see you kiss Toph, and to hear about you kissing her last night," I said, looking away so he couldn't see me cry. "Katara," he said. He was about to say more, but Zuko cut him off. "You guys can discuss this later," he said, feeling Toph's forehead, "right now we need water and an icepack." "Why an icepack?" I asked, looking at Zuko. "Because this is going to hurt," Zuko raised his palm and slapped Toph across the face, hard. Toph sat up, holding her cheek, "what was that for?" "You were hurting yourself," Zuko said, "Katara, go get an icepack." I ran into the kitchen and grabbed an icepack. I came back to find Toph and Sokka tangled in each other. Aang was looking at the ground, sorrow in his eyes. 'He really does love her,' I thought, my heart slowly breaking. I handed the icepack to Zuko and sat down on my bed.

Chapter 15

Zuko

Things weren't going as planned. Toph was already trying to hurt herself, and we were already caught in a love triangle (or square, if you count Katara). I needed to find the Freedom Fighters; they were the last part of our past lives that we were meeting. All we needed was Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot. We already lost a month, so we had five months to get ready. Five months to find our friends, five months to relearn our bending, five months till we have to defeat Azula. My mind was clogged with all the stuff we had to do. I got tired of hearing Toph and Sokka embrace each other, I was sick of it. 'Why won't they just shut up?' I thought, growing angry. We don't have much time… I shot up and stood in front of them. The separated and looked at me. "Zuko," Sokka said, "what's wrong with you? You look so angry." "I am sick and tired of hearing you guys embrace each other! We only five months before we face Azula," I yelled, looking at them. "Five months to learn our bending, five months to find the Freedom Fighters, five months!" I was mad now, real mad. I wasn't paying attention to my hands, but after while I felt something warm. I looked down and saw a flam in my hand. I stepped away from Toph and Sokka and let the flam grow bigger. I threw it, and brought it back. "Zuko," Katara said, staring at me, "your fire bending!" "I am," I said, closing the flam in my palm. Toph held out her hand, "well done Zuko." Then she must have remembered that I might still have fire on my palm because she pulled her hand back, "wait. Don't shake my hand; I kind of need this one." "I wasn't going to shake your hand anyway," I said. "Why not?!" She asked, staring. "Because I'm over here, and your hand is facing the wall," I said, smirking. Toph blushed a deep red, "well," she said, changing the subject, "let's go find those Freedom Fighters!" There was a knock at the door, and I went to go answer it. "Hello," I said, opening the door, making sure to hide my scar, "how may I help you?" "Do you mind letting us in?" 'That voice,' I thought, 'it's seems familiar…' I opened the door to find Mai standing there with three other people. "Who are they?" I asked, looking at the teenagers in front of me. There were two boys and a girl. "These are the people you're looking for," Mai said, "I need your help giving them their past lives back." "These people are Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot?" I asked. I looked closer them and saw that they indeed look like our Freedom Fighter friends. "Yeah," Mai said, "now are you going to let us in or not?"

Chapter 16

Toph

"Who's at the door?" I yelled down the hall. "Why don't you come see for yourself," Zuko yelled back. "Really," I said, "in case you didn't know, this is the blind injured Avatar you're talking too." I heard Zuko let out a sigh, "it's the Freedom Fighters," he yelled at me. "Nice, another thing to take off the list," I yelled back. I crawled back into my room and sat down against the wall. "Who was it?" Katara asked, looking at me. "Oh, no one," I said, playing with my hand, "just the Freedom Fighters." "The Freedom Fighters?!" Aang asked, standing over me, "they are just no ones, they are our friends!" I looked up at him, "oh save your breath Twinkle Toes, I was just playing with you." I smiled up at him, "now, who wants to carry me so we can go see them?" Sokka ran over and picked me up and took me down the hall. "Looks like you were right Zuko," a voice said, "the Avatar did get cut up." I didn't recognize the voice, and I didn't see the person, because of all my blindness and all. "Who are you, and where are you?" "You can't see me," She asked, by the sound of her voice it sounded like she was in front of me. "No," I said, "Because I am blind. I CAN "see" with Earth Bending but I am being carried, so I can't "see" you." "Oh, right," she said, "my name is Mai and I'm a friend. I am the one who brought the Freedom Fighters to you, and without me, you wouldn't have your memory." "You didn't give me my memory and blindness," I said, confused, "Zuko did." "And who do you think gave Zuko his memory?" She asked. "I'm going to guess you," I said, feeling embarrassed. "Bingo," she said, then she said to Zuko (or at least I think it was him), "let's give them their memories back."

Chapter 17

Aang

Watching people get their memories back once can be cool, twice, still pretty cool, but six times…. Tell me about boring. While Sokka and Katara watched in amazement while the Freedom Fighters got their memory back, I laid against the wall, with Toph. "What's going on?" She asked, her hand flat on the floor, "I can't feel any vibrations." "Nothing," I said, yawning, "They are just getting their memory back." "Sounds… neat," she said, frowning, "to bad I can't see it." I felt my heart drop when she frowned. "It's really nothing," I said, trying to cheer her up, "trust me." She smiled at me, and then looked away, "I know you're only trying to make me feel better Aang. I can tell your lying." I took her hand in mine and said, "maybe someday you will see it, so just, I don't know, be happy now!" I saw a shadow fall over me; I looked up to see Sokka staring at me. I looked at my hand, which was still holding Toph's, and dropped it. "That's better," he said, sitting next to Toph. "Hey," she said, putting her hands up, "it's not my fault I'm so beautiful!" I smiled and Sokka let out a chuckle. He grabbed at strand of her shoulder length black hair and twirled it around his finger. "No," he said, "it's not your fault." I felt awkward sitting there, hearing Sokka talk to Toph like that. Toph must have sensed it, because she looked at me and said, "no need to feel out of place Aang. We are all friends here." I smiled at her, "just to let you know, I am smiling at you." She smiled at me, then to Sokka. She pulled both of us into a group hug, "see how great this is?" Toph asked, smiling even bigger, "It's like the good old days." I blushed a light pink, and then noticed someone was staring at us. I looked over, and saw Jet. He had his signature piece of wheat in his mouth. He was staring at us, he looked from me, to Sokka, and then to Toph. His eyes lingered on Toph, and then he smiled at me. "Long time no see Aang," he said, looking back at Toph. "Who's she," he mouthed to me. "Toph," I mouthed back. His eyes widened in surprise, "that's Toph? The Toph Bei-Fong?" "Yeah," I mouthed to him, "also the new Avatar." His mouth hung open, his wheat on the verge of falling out of his mouth. "You're not the Avatar?" I nodded, "I'm not, but at least it's someone I know." Jet nodded too, 'good thing.'

Chapter 18

Sokka

Aang wasn't the only one who caught Jet staring at Toph. "What's his deal?" I whispered to Aang. "I don't know," Aang said, taking a peek at Jet over Toph's shoulder. Then he turned to me and mouthed "I think Jet is still trying to figure out how Toph is the Avatar, not me." Sokka gave me a small nod, telling me that he agreed. "What's whose problem?" Toph asked, looking around. "Oh, no one, just Jet," I said, sounding unimpressed. "Liar," Toph said, feeling my heart beat in my chest. "Hey," I said, moving her hand, "watch where you put your hand." "Oh," Toph said, blushing, again, "sorry. Just wanted to feel your heart beat." "I smiled at her and pulled her closer to me. Aang started making noises and said, "Um, Toph, can you let go of my neck now? You're kind of chocking me." "Oh, right," Toph let go of Aang's next, ending the group hug, "sorry Twinkle Toes." I chuckled at Aang's old nick name, "looks like you can't lose that." Aang blushed, "no, looks like I can't." Toph let out a laugh and smiled at Aang, "that name will forever haunt you, Twinkle Toes." "Oh, shut up Toph," Aang said blushing. He punched her on her good arm, Toph seemed unfazed. Then in one swift movement, she brought her hand back and punched Aang, hard. He did a back words roll, and slid across the room. "Don't mess with the Avatar!" Toph said. She smiled and held her hand out, "who wants to see my new trick?" Toph lit a fire on her palm, and threw it at Aang. Right before it hit him, she extinguished it. Aang flinched anyway, the fire was about to hit his nose. "You can Fire Bend?" I asked looking dumb founded at Toph. "Yeah, I kind of learned it last week," she said. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" I asked, grabbing her wrists. She blushed and looked away, "because I thought it was no big deal. I can Fire Bend, it's no big deal." "It is a big deal Toph," I said, tightening my grip, "you should have told us." Toph winced under my grip, but I still held on. "Sokka," she said, through clenched teeth, "you're hurting me." I let go of Toph and looked away. "Come in Sokka, I told you know! It's only been a week, please, don't be mad at me," Toph got all up in my face, staring at me. I smiled, I mean, who could stay mad at her for long? I gave her a quick peck at the lips and then pushed her away, "get out of my face." She smiled, "no one tells Melon Lord what to do! Muhahaha!" I looked at her and smiled, "how did I ever end up with a girl like you?" I laughed and pulled her into a tight hug.

Chapter 19

Katara

"Amazing," I said to myself as I watched Smellerbee and Longshot get their memory of their past life. 'I wish I could give people their memory back,' I thought. Mai and Zuko worked hard, they had to wrestle all three of the Freedom Fighters, and Jet was the first to get his memory back. I saw him staring at Toph, and wondered, 'what is he thinking?' Earlier I saw Aang hold Toph's hand and smile at her, 'What does she have that I don't?' I shook that thought from my mind and looked over just in time to see Smellerbee and Longshot fall to the ground, on their hands and knees. They were breathing hard, Smellerbee clung to her stomach. They looked around and spotted Jet. "Jet!" Smellerbee cried, running to her former leader and hugging him, "is it really you?" Longshot walked calmly over and stood by Smellerbee and Jet. Jet smiled up at them. "Yeah," he said, taking the piece of wheat out of his mouth, "it's me." Smellerbee hugged him again, "I can't believe," she said, her eyes tearing up. "Hey, don't cry," Jet said, "Freedom Fighters don't cry." Smellerbee wiped her tears and stood up tall, "your right." Longshot shook Jet's hand, and looked him in the eyes. "Got it," Jet said, "you're just going to talk with your eyes again." Jet looked over at me and smiled, "well, well, well, if it isn't Katara." "Jet," I said, looking serious. "Oh, come on," he said, smirking, "I know you want to smile. So go ahead, let me see that smile." I kept my mouth in a straight line, "no smile today Jet." "Oh well," he sighed, "guess I'll have to wait." He smirked again and turned back to the Freedom Fighters. I looked away and grinned a small grin. I don't know why though… guess I was just happy to the Freedom Fighters again.

Chapter 20

Zuko

I stood next to Mai, watching everyone reunite. "You did well Zuko," she said suddenly, "you reunited the original Team Avatar. You also relearned Fire Bending. So did Toph." I spun around and looked at her, "what?! Toph can't Fire Bend, and if she did she would have told me!" Mai stared straight ahead, "really Zuko? Because I just saw her Fire Bend at Aang. She also put the flam out before it burned him." I looked over at Toph and saw her Fire Bending, showing Sokka what she knew. "Your right," I said softly, "she can Fire Bend." "Would I ever lie to you Zuko?" She asked, looking at me. "I guess not," I smiled at her. "Um, Mai," I said, scratching the back of my head. "What?" She asked, looking straight ahead of her again. "I was, um, wondering if you would want to go to the new Dragon restaurant with me," I asked, blushing a little. "I would love to Zuko, but…" she trailed off. "But, what?" I asked, looking at her. "I think we should just stay friends, or, at least until you defeat Azula. I don't want to distract you from your training." I blushed a dark red and looked away. "Oh, ok," I said, trying to keep the sadness out of my voice. "But hey," Mai said, looking at me, "after you defeat Azula, I won't mind going with you then." I smiled at her, "got it, so I'll just mark that down, and I'll see you in five months." Mai gave me a tiny smile, "I'll call it date."

Chapter 21

Jet

I looked Toph. 'She's still that crazy little girl,' I thought. I saw her get up and wince as she put weight on her one leg, but she seemed to be able to stand alright. She walked around a little and smiled. I went over to her. "Hey Toph," I said, smiling at her. "Who are you?" She asked, reaching out and touching my chest with her hand. "Can't you see who I am?" I asked, flicking her hand off of me. "No," she said, "in case you didn't know or bother to remember, I'm blind," she said, pointing at her eyes. "Oh, right," I said, "it's Jet." Her smile got a little bigger, "Jet?" Sokka glared at me from where he was sitting on the ground, I guess he saw Toph smile at me. "Yeah," I said, "the one and only." She hugged me, "I thought you died, but I guess you were wrong because here you are!" She let go of me and smiled. "Wow," she said in amazement, "you're kind of like a zombie. Back from the dead and all. Please don't eat my brains." I laughed and ruffled her hair, "can't make any promises." She smiled and laughed too. "Wow," she said again and then looked over at Sokka. "Come here Sokka, Jet's back from the dead," she said, her smile growing. "I think I'll just stay here," he said, grumpily. "What's wrong, Sokka?" Toph asked, sounding upset, "don't you want to come see the Zombie?" "I see him fine from right here," Sokka said, crossing his arms. "Ok, fine Mr. Grumpy," Toph said, walking over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go give him the tour," Toph limped out of the room and I followed. 'A tour from a blind girl,' I thought, 'this is going to be interesting.'

Chapter 22

Toph

Maybe giving Jet a tour was a bad idea. I opened one of the doors and guessed what room it was. "Here is Sokka and Aang's room," I said, gesturing inside. Jet snickered. "What?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. "It's funny because they sleep in a bathroom," he said, laughing now. I blushed and turned away, "ok, here is the bathroom." I shut the door and opened the next. "What kind of room is this?" I asked my hand on the wall, I looked down at my feet, waiting for my color to return to normal come. "It looks like a bedroom," he said, looking in, "there are scratch marks on the wall. Dry blood is on the floor and a bid part of the floor is missing. What happened in here?" I felt my face to go white. "N-nothing," I said, looking away, "just close the door and we will continue the tour." Jet stayed there for a second longer, looking in the room. Finally he closed the door. I limped farther down the hall and opened another door. "Another bedroom," Jet said, peeking inside. I stepped inside and felt around. "Wait," I said to myself. Jet stopped in his tracks, "what?" I stomped my foot on the ground and "saw" the objects in the room. "This is mine and Katara's room," I said, gesturing. "Nice," Jet said, walking around the room. I lay on my bed, tired. Fire Bending can take some energy out of you. Jet sat down next to me. "Are we taking a break from the tour?" He asked. I could sense him looking at me. "No," I said, getting up, "we will continue." I walked out of the room and opened the next door, "and this is some random room, or someone's bedroom. I really don't know." "It's a bedroom," Jet said, "and it's very messy." "Oh, so it is either Zuko or Sokka and Aang's room," I said, closing the door, and walking farther down the hall. "I thought they slept in that bathroom," Jet said, snickering. I felt my cheeks going hot again, "nope, they sleep in a bedroom." I opened another door, this one was farther down the hall, "Ok, this is familiar; this is Sokka and Aang's room. I know this because they're room is exactly fifty-six steps away from mine and Katara's room." I closed the door and walked into another wing of our "house." I opened another door, "and this should be an empty bedroom with one bed, if so, this is Smellerbee's room." I walked across the hall and opened another door, "this should also be a bedroom with two beds, if so, welcome to yours and Longshot's room." "Nice," Jet said, looking in the room. After he closed the door, I felt him turn to me. "So, why don't you show me some of that Earth Bending and Fire bending," he said. "Sure," I said. I relaxed my muscles and closed my eyes, summoning my inner fire. I breathed and felt my hand go warm; I felt fire in the palm of my hand. I smiled and rolled it into a ball. "Watch this," I said, throwing the fireball at him, and blowing it out before it reached Jet. "Nice," he said, "do it again, but this time, wait until it almost touches me before you blow it out." I nodded, and I did as he said. But I messed up. I didn't blow the fire out in time. It hit Jet's arm and burned it. He fell to the ground, clutching his arm. "Jet, I'm so sorry," I said. I didn't wait to hear his answer though. I ran down the hall. I heard him following me, calling my name. I ran even faster, but he was closing in, fast. I Earth Bent the floor, making it impossible to run through, even to walk through it was nearly impossible. But that didn't seem to stop Jet, he walked through it anyway. I rounded the corner and fell to the ground, panting. Not even two minutes passed before Jet reached me. "Hey," he said, sitting next to me, "I forgive you." I looked at him and smiled. "I feel a little better now, but I still feel bad about burning your arm." "It's only a minor burn," he said, "nothing a good night's sleep won't heal." I smiled again and leaned against the wall. My eyelids felt heavy, and in no time I was asleep.

Chapter 23

Aang

I walked around our big house, calling for Toph. 'How long does it take to give someone a tour?' I thought to myself, looking around the corner. I didn't see her, so I kept walking. Toph left with Jet about two hours ago, and never came back. 'Did she get lost?' I called her name again… nothing. I heard Zuko across the hall, calling her too. "I got this area Zuko," I called down to him, "why don't you go look down by the pool?" "Fine," he called back. I heard him running in the opposite direction. "Toph!? Jet?!" I called, looking around. I looked to my right, nothing. I then looked to my left, now there was something. The ground was overturned and rocky. "She must have gone this way," I said, following the trial. It was hard to walk through, and I kept on tripping. I had cuts on my hands by the time I got to the end. I took a look at them; they weren't serious cuts, more like scraps. I turned the corner. There. Toph lay in the ground, her eyes were closed. I ran over to her side and placed my hand on her cheek. "Toph," I said, "are you ok?" She yawned and rubbed her eyes. 'Thank the Spirits;' I thought t myself, 'she was only asleep.' "What is it Twinkle Toes?" She asked, looking angry. I took a deep breath, hoping that she wouldn't punch my head off, "you were gone for over two hours. We went looking for you." I looked around, "where's Jet?" She yawned again. "I don't know," she said, "he was here, um, how long did you say we were gone?" "Two hours," I said, helping her up. "So, he was here two hours ago," once she was up she brushed herself off. "So, what's with the floor?" I asked, looking down the ruined hall. Toph looked away, her blind eyes had a tinge of sadness in them, "oh, you know. Just a friendly game if chase the blind girl." I looked at her curiously, and she must have sensed it. She grabbed my hand, which made me blush, and led me down the halls. I had to stop her a couple of times from dragging us into the wall. I also had to stop her from bringing us into a bathroom. She blushed an even deeper red. "Sorry," she mumbled under her breath. I wondered why she was blushing so much, but instead of asking, I ignored it. It was probably nothing. After she ran us into the wall, I took lead. 'Why isn't she using her bending to see?' I wondered, leading her into the main room. "About time," Zuko said, standing up, "we were about to send another search party for you Aang!" I blushed, feeling embarrassed. "Sorry, Toph led us into some walls, and it took me a while to find her." "I know I should have looked over in that area," Zuko mumbled to himself. I looked across the room and saw Sokka staring at our hands. I dropped Toph's hand quickly and sat down next to Katara. I saw Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot sitting together n the couch. Jet had a scowl on his face; he was looking at Toph and Sokka. Jet must have sensed me looking at him because he looked over at me. I quickly looked away and tuned myself into what Zuko was saying. "…Now that Toph has covered two out of the four elements, we need to start working harder. Toph has mastered Earth Bending, but only scraped the surface of Fire Bending. We all need to get started on our own elements too. Like Toph, I have only scraped the surface of Fire Bending. Therefore, I will be the first to train with Toph. Whoever learns their element will be next. So Aang, Katara, I'm not trying to put pressure on you, but you only have five months to learn and teach Toph. I wish you luck. But sadly, I have to put a deadline on you two. You have three out of the five months to learn your element, and only four months to teach Toph. You do, although, have the full five months to master your bending," Zuko said, looking at me and Katara. Katara raised her hand, "Zuko, I have a question." "You don't have to raise your hand Katara, this isn't school," Zuko said, slowly shaking his head. Katara put her hand down awkwardly, "what if we don't learn our element in time?" "Then you just doomed the world. There are not 'what-if's' here. So you better learn your element," Zuko said, sternly. "So you're basically saying now or never," I said. "Exactly."

Chapter 24

Sokka

I was in a fiery cave. I heard people fighting, and I followed the noise. I saw Toph, my Toph, fighting some strange girl. Toph looked over and saw me standing there. "I told you to leave, Sokka," she said deflecting a fireball with and Earth shield. The strange girl laughed, "You know you can't defeat me, Avatar. No one can defeat me!" She threw another fireball at Toph. Toph did a jump roll over it, barley missing it. She landed with a thump, the sleeve of her shirt singed from the fire. She looked over at me, and her eyes filled with sorrow when she saw me standing there. "Go!" She yelled, sending a big puff of air at the girl, knocking her to the ground. "This is my fight," She said, not looking at me, "and I am the Avatar. You must obey the Avatar. I told you to leave, now LEAVE!" I still stood there. It felt like my feet were bolted onto the ground. Toph looked at me again, and a tear fell down her cheek. "Please Sokka," she said, almost getting hit with lightening. The girl bended another fireball at her, and then sent lightening after it. "Just go, Mr. Sokka," the girl chanted, "or do you really want to see this girl die?" I looked over at Toph, she missed the fireball, but the lighting scraped across her arm. I then noticed how cut up she was, she had burns on her arm, and cuts on her face, arms, and legs. Toph Air Bended again at the girl, but she was at the wrong angle. Toph feel to the ground and almost got hit with another fireball. "So, it looks like you made your decision," the girl threw her head back and laughed, "You want to see her die. Ok, have fun. Also enjoy your front row seat to the action. Even though it is just about over." By the time she finished talking; Toph had scrambled up to her feet and shot a boulder at the girl. She just avoided it and sent more fire to Toph. Toph couldn't move in time to avoid it, and it hit her in the stomach. Toph fell to the ground, moaning and clutching her stomach. I tried to call out for her, but my voice didn't work. I tried to run to her, but my feet still felt like they were bolted to the ground. All I could was stand and watch, as Toph suffered. The girl stood over Toph and summoned lighting into her hand, "any last words Avatar?" Toph looked over at me, and a single tear fell down her cheek. The girl looked at me over her shoulder, "are you ready for the grand finale?" She let out a long, crazy laugh. She shot the lighting out of her finger tips, and sent it at Toph's burnt stomach. Toph shuddered, and soon, was still. Her once full of life eyes were glassy and cold. "The deed is done!" The girl said, turning to me, "now the whole world shall know my name! The girl who killed the Avatar! All hail Azula!"  
I woke up, sweating. I was breathing hard, my heart beating so hard, I thought it was going to pop out of my chest. I looked over and saw that Aang was still asleep. I quietly got up and walked into the hall. I walked down to Toph and Katara's room and silently opened the door. Katara was still asleep, but Toph was sitting up in bed, breathing hard. "Who's there?" She whispered, her eyes growing wide. "It's me, Sokka," I said, "may I come in." "No," she said, getting up, "let's go sit in the main room, I don't want to wake the Sugar Queen." She looked over at Katara, who was still sound asleep. We walked down the hall into the main room. I took one couch while she took the other. "So, why are you awake?" I asked, looking at her. "Bad dream," she said, shuddering. She clutched her now healed arm, but winced anyway. "Ouch," she said, looking at her arm, "I thought this was healed?" I walked over to her and looked at her arm. It has a nasty scratch on it, and it was burned to. "Toph," I said, sounding worried, "what was your dream about?" "I was being attacked by some lunatic, and she… killed me. You were there to, Sokka. I kept telling you to leave, but you just stood there…" she trailed off. "I had the same dream," I said, brushing my hand against her wound. She winced again, "what did I tell you? Watch what you're touching!" "Sorry," I mumbled, feeling my face go red. She leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, "I forgive you. Just watch it from now on." I laughed at sat on the opposite end of the couch, feeling my eyelids get heavy.

Chapter 25

Katara

I woke up, and almost had a heart attack. Toph's bed was empty, and there was a little dried blood on her sheets. I threw on my robe and ran into the main room. I let out a deep sigh when I got there, Toph and Sokka where on the couch, asleep. 'Why are they here?" I thought to myself, silently heading into the kitchen. Aang was already there, eating an apple. "Good morning," he said, swallowing his bite of apple. "What are Toph and Sokka doing on the couch?" I asked him, grabbing a banana and sitting across from him. "I don't know I heard Sokka get up last night and leave the room. It sounded like he had a nightmare," he took another bite of his apple. "Oh," I said, peeling my banana open. I took a bite of it and stared at Aang. "Why do you like her?" I asked. I covered my mouth, wishing that I could take that back. Aang blushed, and looked down at the table, "who?" I felt myself getting angry. "You know who I'm talking about, Aang," I said, as calmly as I could. "Oh, yeah…her," he said, still looking at the table. "Answer me Aang!" I stood up and planted my hand on the table. He looked at me, shock in his eyes. "I-I think I better go get dressed," he stuttered, standing up and started to leave the room. I was angry, "why won't you answer me?!" He ran into the hall. I chased after him, "ANSWER ME!" He ran into his room and slammed the door. "You can't hide in there forever!" No answer. "Fine," I said to myself, walking back into the kitchen, "whatever, I'll get it out of him later." I walked into the room and saw that Sokka was already awake. He was trying to get up without waking Toph. He looked over and saw me, "hey sis." "Hey," I said, halfheartedly. He looked at me curiously, "what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream? I had one to last night." I shook my head. "Its… it's nothing," I said, lying. "Fine, don't tell me," he said, sighing. He was still struggling to get up, "a little help?" "It's your fault for sleeping on the same couch as her," I said, giving him a small smile. He sighed again, "Guess I have to wake her up." "Guess so, but can you hold on to that into I leave the room?" I ran out of the room and stood in the hallway, "ok, go!" Sokka pushed Toph off the couch and ran by my side. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Toph got up, and gripped her arm. Sokka ran to her side, "did I push you on your arm?" Toph nodded, gripping her arm even tighter, I ran over to her side. "What's wrong with your arm?" I asked, looking at where her hand was gripping her arm. "It's just a minor cut," she said. "Toph, just show her your wound," Sokka said, grabbing her hand. "No!" Toph yelled backing away from him, "it's nothing!" "Toph, it's something," Sokka said, lunging at her. His force threw both of them to the ground. I ran over and uncovered Toph's hand, I gasped. There was a large, deep cut, and it was burned. Toph," I asked, still gaping at her wound, "what happened?" "I don't know… one minute I was asleep, then I was fighting Azula, and then, I woke up," she said, wincing as I gently touched her wound. "I think Zuko needs to see this," I said, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.

Chapter 26

Zuko

I woke up to someone calling my name. "Five more minutes," I mumbled, rolling over on my side. The voice got louder, and soon there was pounding at my door. "God," I said to myself, getting up. I grabbed my robe, put it on, and opened the door. Katara stood there; she grabbed my hand and led me down the hall into the main room. "What's going on?" I asked, yanking my hand away. "Zuko, over here," Sokka waved me over to the couch. I walked over and saw Toph laying there, her arm was being iced. I kneeled down next to her. I took the ice off and stared at her wound, "what happened?" Toph told me about her dream, then waking up with the wound. I was quite for some time. "Those are dream wounds," I said, studying her arm. "And that means…" Toph said, looking at me with her blind eyes. "It means you saw the future. You were in the future," I said, looking at her. Toph and Sokka gasped. "No," Toph said, tears filling her eyes, "no, it can't be true!" Sokka hung his head, and I knew that Toph didn't tell me everything about her dream. "Toph, tell me what happened after the lighting hit you in your dream," I said, sternly. Toph looked away, tears running down her cheeks now. Sokka was the one to speak up. "Azula… she killed Toph," he said, looking at the ground. My eyes widened in shock, "Azula killed her?" "Yes, she killed her." I looked at Toph, who was now sobbing into Aang's chest. Aang's face was pale. I looked at Katara and Sokka, Katara had tears in her eyes, and Sokka was looking at the ground. We all sat there, no one saying a word. We sat there for a couple of minutes, until we heard footsteps in the hall, our Freedom Fighter friends stepping inside the main room. "What's with the sad faces?" Jet asked, smirking at us. I stood up and faced him, "we have bad news Jet." He looked at me, and grabbed a piece of wheat out of his pocket. He stuck it in his mouth. "What is it Zuko?" Smellerbee asked, looking at all of us with concern. Longshot stayed quiet, as usual, but her to had concern in his eyes. "It's about Toph," I said, looking at the three of them. Smellerbee didn't look like the old Smellerbee, her hair was longer but it was still the same color and her eyes were grey, instead of green. She looked about fourteen, which made her the youngest of all of us. Longshot still had his black hair, and his nose was still a little big, but he was a bit paler and his eyes were blue .He looked a little older than fifteen, so he was maybe one of the oldest. Jet looked just like the old Jet, he was tan, had scruffy brown hair and brown eyes. He looked about sixteen, which made me wonder who was the oldest… me, or him. I looked over at Toph who was wiping her eyes. Smellerbee went over to Toph. "I want to give you some wise words, Toph," she said, putting a hand on Toph's shoulder. "What is it?" Toph asked, sitting up. "Warriors don't cry," Smellerbee said, looking over at Jet, "right?" Jet nodded and looked at me, "so, what's with the Avatar?" "She has a future dream," I said, looking over at Toph, "she has a wound to prove it." Jet nodded, "I had one of those. They're not fun." I nodded and hung my head. "But this dream is much worse, and it is going to happen. Sokka saw it too," I said. "What happened?" Smellerbee asked, sitting by Toph. Before I could answer Toph spoke up. "I died," she said quietly, "Azula killed me. I'm going to die." Smellerbee gasped, Longshot's eyes darkened and Jet's face turned paler. "We're going to lose the Avatar to Azula?" he said, looking at Toph. I nodded, closing my eyes. Everyone was quite. Toph stood up, surprising everyone. "Ok, I'm not the one to give speeches," she said, standing up tall. Sokka and Aang snickered, and Toph turned and stared at them. It looked like she was about to Earth Bend their heads off, or burn them to crisp, but she thought not of it, and turned around to us again. "As I was saying, I'm not the one to give the speeches. That's Zuko's job, but I think it's time I spoke up for myself. We all know what I going to happen to me," she chocked a little on her words, but soon regained herself, "but that doesn't mean we have to sit around and be depressed! We have to get working, now. I still need to learn Water and Air, and Aang and Katara; you need to learn them too. Aang, air, Katara, water. Maybe we can change this future, and even if we can't, the least we can do is try," she pounded her fist in her open palm, "we must not give up! We still need to find Sokka's boomerang, my Meteor bracelet, Jet's hook-swards, Longshot's bow-and-arrow, and Smellerbee was to relearn Kun Fu. So, who's with me?" Toph outstretched her hand in front of her; I got up and put my hand with hers. One by one all of us got up and put our hands in the center. Jet was the last to come. "Why so slow?" Toph asked, smirking at him. "Wanted to be the last, you know, fashionably late," he said. "Am I doing this right?" Toph asked, pointing at her eyes, "Because I am supposed to be rolling my eyes at you." We all laughed, even Jet. "Ok on the count of three, everyone separate and yell 'Team Avatar'. Ready, one, two, three!" Every one yelled Team Avatar and threw their hands in the air. "Team Avatar," Jet said, late. "Do you have to be 'Fashionably Late' for everything Jet?" Toph asked, trying to roll her eyes again. "Yes, I do Ms. Avatar," he said, chuckling. "Good grief, please help us Spirits," Toph said, putting her head in her palm.

Chapter 27

Toph

I started Fire Bending practice in the morning with Zuko. He came into my room and woke me up. I rubbed my useless eyes and tried to figure out what time it was. "It's six a.m.," Zuko said, as if he read my mind. "Why so early in the morning?" I asked, feeling tired and mad, "the morning is evil." "Azula is eviler, and if you want to master Fire Bending, we have to start early," Zuko said, yanking me out of my bed and pulling me down the hall. He led us outside to the pool area. I could only tell because I smelled the chlorine. "So you want us to practice Fire Bending right next to water?" I asked, crossing my arms, "smart. And then I can practice my Earth Bending in the air, and Metal Bending in a pillow room for crazy people! And I can practice Air Bending in space and Water Bending in the middle of a burning house. And while we're at it, why don't I just go read a book!" I waved my hands over my useless eyes, indicating that me reading a book was in chance from zero to a million. "We are practicing next to the pool, not in the pool idiot, "Zuko said, dragging me away from the water, "now show me your stance!" "My stance? What the heck is that?" I looked at him, dumb founded. Zuko sighed, "This is basically helpless. You don't even know what a stance is!" "I know what a stance is," I said, lying. "Then show me," Zuko said, letting go of my arm. I stood there awkwardly, feeling stupid. "For the Spirits sake, Toph, just show me how you fire bend!" "Fine," I relaxed my muscles and closed my eyes. I waited for my inner fire to come out. I felt something warm, but before I could let it out, something hit me in my chest. I fell to the ground, my stomach hurt badly. Zuko stood over me, fire was on his palm. "You took too long," he said, closing his hand so that the fire disappeared. "W-what did you throw at me?" "Fire, but it shouldn't hurt long and there should be no scar," he said. I felt him reach up and touch his scar. "How do I speed it up?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "I don't know," he said, "I think you just have to practice." I nodded, even though I hated practicing. The only thing I had fun practicing with was my skateboard. 'My skateboard,' I thought to myself. I loved my skateboard. It had green wheels with a scratchy base and black surface. But there was thing I never understood about my prized possession...on the axle it had a black winding piece. It circled it and stretched from both of the wheels. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pull it off. Then it hit me. "I know where my Meteor bracelet is!" I yelled, scaring Zuko. "You do?" He asked. "Yes, it's been that one part on my skateboard! No wonder I couldn't pull it off, I wasn't ready for it! But I am now, we need to go get it," I said, running towards the door. Zuko followed me, "where's your skateboard?" I stopped cold, my hand on the door handle. "It's at my house, in my room," I said, remembering where I last saw it. "Your house?" Zuko asked, stopping behind me. I squeezed my hand on the metal door handle. Zuko pulled my hand away, "stop it or we are going to be stuck out here." "Oh, right, sorry," I said, looking down at the ground. "How am I going to get my skateboard back? It's not like I have any windows in my room, and even if I did, my room is on the top floor. And I can't just walk inside and grab it. I can't let my parents see me, especially with this feature!" I waved my hand in front of my useless field of vision, "they are going to notice that I'm blind. I used to have bright green eyes, but now I have grey ones and you can barely see my pupils!" I sat down on the ground and pulled my knees up to my chest. I wanted to cry, but then I remembered what Smellerbee said. "Warriors don't cry," I said to myself. "What was that?" Zuko asked, standing over me. "I said warriors don't cry. And they surely don't give up either. I am going to walk into my house and get my skateboard and retrieve my Meteor bracelet, no matter what it takes!" I got up and ran to the door. Zuko cleared his throat and I turned around and looked at him. "Need a ride?" He asked, walking towards me. I smiled sheepishly, "yeah, that would be helpful."

Chapter 28

Zuko

I unlocked my car and opened the door for Toph. "I can open my own door Zuko," she said, taking a seat in the back. "Fine, I'll just sit up here all alone," I grumbled, closing the passenger side door and walking to the driver's side. I slipped into the seat and started the car. "You do know how to drive, right?" Toph asked from the back seat. "A little," I said, knowing that Toph could tell if I was lying. Toph hoped into the passenger seat and strapped on her seat belt. "Why are you up here now?" I asked, putting the car in reverse. "I'm up here because you can't drive well and this is going to be fun," she gave me an evil smile, "hit the gas!" I smiled and pressed the gas pedal. We zoomed through the streets, hoping not to get caught by the police. We arrived outside of Toph's old house fifteen minutes later. Toph got out of the car and I followed. "Look under the welcome mat," she said, pointing towards the front porch, "there should be a key under it. If not, check the flower pot."I looked under the welcome mat and found the key. I handed it to Toph. She tried to put the key in the key hole, but kept on hitting the door. "A little help here?" She asked impatiently after hitting the door for the hundredth time now. I took the key from her and unlocked the door. We were greeted by a blast of cold air; I shivered, rubbing my arms. I looked down at Toph she didn't even let out a tiny shiver."Aren't you cold?" I asked, rubbing my arms harder. "No," she said, walking inside, "my parents always kept the house cold. They thought it was better for me to be in a cold environment. Even in the winter this place is ice cold." I shivered again and followed her into the house. The house was quite, it didn't sound like anyone was home. "What time is it?" Toph asked, standing against the wall that led into the kitchen. I checked my phone, "eight thirty." My parents are at work. But my mom will be home in about ten minutes, so we need to do this quick," she said, already running up the stairs. I ran after her. We had to run up two flights of stairs. "Where is your skateboard again?" I asked, trying to catch my breath while still running. "Don't you remember? I live in the attic, we only have one more flight of stairs before we get to my door, then all we have to do is climb another flight, grab the skateboard and run," Toph said. She made it sound so easy, too bad it wasn't. "How are you not out of breath?" I asked, trying to keep up with her. She laughed, "Zuko, I've been climbing these stairs ever since I could walk. These stairs are nothing." Toph ran even faster, and finally stopped. I looked around for her door, but I didn't see it. "What kind of trick is this Toph? Where's the door?" Toph pointed to the ceiling, I looked up and saw a piece of rope dangling down. "That's my door, would you mind opening it? It might not be the best idea for me to open it because I can't see where it is going to land." I stretched up and grabbed the rope and tugged down on it. Stairs fell from the ceiling. "More stairs," I grumbled. Toph was already half way up the stairs, "come on Zuko, we only have five minutes left and I can't see. I need you to help me!" I pulled myself up the stairs and entered Toph's "room." I t was basically just a bed and a dresser, with posters of famous athletes and skateboarders. There were some rock band posters, but not many. "Why don't you live in any of the other actual bedrooms?" I asked, looking around her small space for her skateboard. "Up here is more private, I don't have to worry about my parents going through my stuff without me hearing them. Also my parents sleep on the second floor and I sleep all the way up here, so that gives me some space." I nodded and kept on looking. We looked for a couple minutes. "Found it," I said, picking the skateboard up from under her bed. "Good, now let's get out of here before my mom gets home," Toph said, heading down the stairs. We got down and closed her "door" and were almost to the second floor when we heard the garage door open. "No," Toph said, I could hear the panic in her voice, "my mom's home." "Do you have some kind of back door or escape pod?" I asked. "We have a back door, but we have to be quick," Toph said, squeezing her skateboard to her chest. We ran down the steps and made it to the first floor. Toph's mom, Mrs. Richard, was opening the door from the garage. "The door she is going through is in the kitchen," Toph said, stopping and hiding around the corner, "we have to be sneaky or unless she will see us." I nodded and waited till Toph said to go. Mrs. Richard walked out from the kitchen and sat in the living room. I looked over at Toph. "Where is she now?" She mouthed to me. I leaned over and whispered in her ear since I knew she couldn't see my mouth, "she is in the living room, sitting in a chair." "Is she reading?" "I think so." "Ok, here's the plan, we are going to wait a couple of minutes until she is fully into her book, then we sneak out the back door and climb the fence. Then we are home free." I nodded. We waited five minutes before Toph signaled me to start tip toeing into the kitchen. Everything was going well until Toph ran into the glass door. She made a big "thump" noise as she hit the glass. "Hello," Mrs. Richard called out from the other room, "who's there?" I heard her get up. "She's coming," I hissed in Toph's ear, "open the door." "I can't," Toph said, pulling on the door, "it won't open!" I grabbed the door handle and pulled, Toph was right, the door was stuck. "I'm going to break it," Toph said, she was listening to her mom's careful footsteps, they were getting closer now. "Do it," I said, backing away from her. Toph bended the Earth and smashed her glass door into pieces. We ran through the door just in time. Mrs. Richard rounded the corner and walked into the kitchen. I was helping Toph over the fence by then. I was already up; all I needed to do was pull her and her skateboard up. "Tara," Mrs. Richard called, running towards us, "Tara, is that you? Tara, stop! Tara!" I pulled Toph over the fence. "Where's the car?" I asked, panting on the other side of fence. "About a mile away, my backyard is pretty big. And we might want to hurry, I can feel my mom climbing the fence right this second." Toph hopped onto her skateboard and turned around and looked at me, "what are you waiting for? Hop on!" I jumped onto the little space she left for me on her skateboard and in a second, we were off. She widened through cars, avoiding then but getting some nasty words from the drivers. I clung to her shoulders. I'm not a skateboard person, I'm more of a rollerblades kind of guy. In a couple of minutes we arrived at my car. "Hurry, get it," I said, unlocking the car and slipping into the driver's seat. I put the car in reverse before Toph could even close her door. "Tara, come back!" I heard Mrs. Richard calling, before we sped away.

Chapter 29

Aang

I woke up to a car speeding down the street. I sat up and rubbed my eyes and let out a huge yawn. I looked outside the window and saw that the car was heading straight towards our house! I jumped out of bed and ran outside. The car pulled into the parking lot. Toph and Zuko stepped out of the car, breathing hard. "Where were you two?" They jumped at the sound of my voice. Toph turned over to the sound of my voice and smiled. "Look what we got," she said, holding up a skateboard. "A skateboard?" I asked, looking at it. "Not just any skateboard," Toph said, turning it upside down. She pulled at some black object attached to the axle, it came off and Toph held it in her palm. She set the skateboard down gently and turned her attention to the black object. She stuck her tongue out and started messing with the object. Soon, it turned into a star, then a glob, then a bracelet. "It's your Meteor bracelet!" I explained, watching as Toph messed with it. "Yeah, and we only almost got caught one time," she said, sounding excited. "You almost got caught?" I asked, looking at Zuko and Toph, "by whom?" "Toph's mom," Zuko said, watching Toph. "She better not call the police on us, or we are in major trouble. Did she see your car?" Zuko's face went pale, "she saw the back of it, but I doubt she saw my plate number." "You guys have to be more careful!" I yelled at them. Toph flinched at the sound of my voice. "Whoa Twinkle Toes, calm down. I know my mom, and she will try to find us herself first before going to the police. Yeah, she likes to make a scene, but that's only with family, friends, the school board, and people she knows. She will not want to be on television for a missing child. So all we have to worry about is her finding us, and if she finds us, then we kick her back home and try to make her believe it was a dream," Toph said, pounding her fist. "Good idea Toph, and after we hurt your mother, why don't we go ride unicorns," I said sarcastically. "I don't like your tone Twinkle Toes," Toph said, lashing out at me. "At least I didn't almost get caught!" I lashed back at her. "Listen to that sentence again, ALMOST! Key word right there, almost. Did we get caught? No!" I stepped up to Toph, I was a breath away from her. I looked into her eyes. Zuko stood to the side, awkwardly watching us as we fought each other with words. After a while of staring into Toph's eyes, I accepted defeat. "Your right," I said, bowing my head. "About what?" Toph asked, even though I knew she already knew. "About you not getting caught and you also got your Meteor bracelet, so that's one thing off of the list." I smiled at her, even though I knew she couldn't see it. I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, then ran inside, smiling to myself. "I don't care if she's Sokka's girl, I'm still going to try to make her mine somehow."

Chapter 30

Sokka

"About time you woke up, Snoozles," Toph said when I entered the kitchen. It was an hour passed noon, and I was still tired. "Rough night Sleeping Beauty?" Katara asked, handing me a plate of lunch. "Yeah," I said, sitting down and yawning, "I don't know why, but I couldn't fall asleep. I stayed up the whole night and probably fell asleep at three." "Oh, poor Snoozles," Toph said, standing up and walking over to me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and put her chin on my shoulder. "Guess what Zuko and I found this morning," Toph said, smiling. "What," I asked tiredly. Toph rolled up her sleeve to reveal a black bracelet wrapped around her upper arm. "Meteor bracelet," I said, looking at it, "oh, how I miss space sword." Toph leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, "and I want to see again, but we both know that's impossible." I chuckled at her, no matter what, she could bring her blindness into any conversation. No matter what the subject was. Zuko stood up and looked at all of us, "I have an announcement." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. "Today, I think I picked up a clue on how to find our lost items. It was Toph who gave this idea. Toph found her Meteor bracelet on her prized possession before she joined us. I am referring to her skateboard. So my idea is that the stuff we are looking for is on or in our old prized possessions. Now, I want you all to think," every moaned, cutting him off. "We have to think?" I asked, knowing that I was one of those people. Zuko sighed, "yes Sokka, you have to think. Even your girlfriend thought of where her item was, now it's everyone else's turn to think." Everyone was quite for some time. "What about me learning Kun Fu?" Smellerbee asked, standing up. "We'll enroll you in classes next week," Zuko said. He then turned to everyone else, "now, I want you all to think, I want to hear what you think next week at our next meeting. No later." With that, Zuko walked out of the room, leaving us all behind to think.

Chapter 31

Katara

I had only three months to learn Water Bending and teach Toph. Pressure was high, and I still had my own mission. No one else knew about except me. I had to find my mother's old necklace. I had a pretty good idea of where it was too. It was either in my old stuffed bear, Wikk, or in my mother's jewelry box. I just had to wait until next week, when Sokka had a good idea where his boomerang was. For the time being, I focused myself on Water Bending. I practiced all day, and late into the night, but I could not get one lousy ripple. I was getting angry, why couldn't I bend this water? I am a Water Bender, right? I tried for days and nights, and still nothing. I've already wasted two weeks trying to get a ripple, and I was about to give up. One night, I was out alone, trying to get a tiny wave. Nothing, as usual. "You're doing it wrong." I jumped and turned around. Toph was leaning against the wall, looking at me with her blind eyes. "What do you mean, I'm doing it wrong? You can't even see me," I said, turning back around. "Yes, it's true, I'm blind, but I can sense that you're doing it wrong. Water bending is all about being calm, and I can feel that you have some anger in you," she said standing by me. "See, I want you to watch me." Toph stood up straight closed her eyes and relaxed. She lifted her hands over her head, and then held them over the water. She moved her hands to the left, and the water responded. A wave hurtled across the pool, and then lapsed at the sides. Toph opened her eyes, "now you try. Let go of all you r anger, go to your happy peaceful place." I closed my eye and did as Toph said, and in no time I was Water Bending. I looked over at Toph, "thanks." "No problem."

Chapter 32

Smellerbee

I walked into the arena, my heart was racing. It was my first day of Kun Fu class, and I was all alone. I really wished that one of my friends was here with me. Anyone. "Clara Ellern?" I looked around to find an older man standing behind me. 'Zuko must have signed me up by my old name,' I thought to myself. "Yes, that's me," I said. The man smiled and turned around. He gestured for me to follow him. I took a deep breath, and followed. We walked through twisting halls. I heard people behind the paper thin doors. There was grunting, people falling and even crying. My heart started beating fast in my chest. "Here you are," the man said, stopping at one of the doors, "level one." He pushed open the door, and inside sat eight through ten year olds. "Great," I said, under my breath, "I'm fifteen and in a class with kids." He gestured for me to enter. I walked in and sat down. "You look a little old for level one? Are you a big ten year old, or are you just so dumb you have to be in level one?" An annoying little kid asked me. He was sitting next to me, and I wished I was in level twenty-one, just to get away from him. "Matthew, be quite," the teacher said sharply. Then she turned and smiled at me, "welcome Young Grasshopper. What might your name be?" "Clara," I said, wishing that she wouldn't call me grasshopper. I liked Bee better, get it? My name is Smellerbee. It has "Bee" in it. "Welcome Clara," she said, still smiling, "how much do you know about Kun Fu?" "Nothing," I said sheepishly. It felt like everyone was staring at me, laughing in their heads. I looked around and saw that I was wrong, no one was staring or laughing at me. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Well then it looks like your in the right class. My name is Master Wright, and I will teach you all you need to know about Kun Fu," Master Wright said, standing up. She walked over to two young boys, "Max, Charles, show me your stances." The boys stood up in less than a second, bowed to each other, and took their stances. "Good, good, Clara would you like to try?" I nodded without thinking. "Ok, Olivia, give me your stance too." A ten year old girl stood up. She had dark hair with ice blue eyes. She looked mean to the core. "Thank the Spirits we're only doing stances,' I thought standing on the front mat. Olivia soon joined me. We bowed to each other and took our stances. Everyone gasped at me. I was afraid I did something wrong. "You're a natural," Master Wright said, coming over and examining my stance. "This is the hardest, most complicated stance ever, and you mastered it in only two minutes," she said in awe. She then backed away, "I want you two to fight, right now. First person to be knocked down loses." I felt my heart beat faster again, and for once, I felt scared. Fighting, a ten year old? No thank you! But then again, fighting was in my blood. "The Freedom Fighters," aren't just a name given to random people. We fight, for our freedom. I was ready to fight. I heard someone hit a gong, and Olivia threw a punch at me. I ducked out of the way at the last second, and grabbed her arm. I twisted it behind her back and I felt her wince. She broke free and took a kick at me. I did a back flip, sweeping my leg put as I landed. It hit her leg, and she fell to the ground. The match was over, and I won. "Well," Master Wright said, as Olivia got up, "looks like you are moving up a couple levels."

Chapter 33

Toph

"Toph, get up! It's time for Water Bending practice!" Katara tried to pull me out of bed, but I wouldn't budge. "I don't want to," I said, rolling over. I only had two months until I faced Azula. So far, Smellerbee master Kun Fu, and we got the following items: everything we needed. All we needed was for Aang to learn and teach me Air Bending. "Can't we have a day off?" I asked, putting my pillow over my face. "No, you have to learn this stuff Toph. There are no break days," Katara said, yanking me out of my bed. I flew onto the ground with a 'thump.' "Ok, fine," I said, getting up and stretching my back. "I finally got it!" I jumped as Aang ran down the hall screaming. I ran to the door, in my tank top and shorts, not caring about how I was still in my pajamas. "Got what Twinkle Toes?" I felt a blast of air in my face. It was so strong that I fell to the ground. "Air bending," Aang said, coming over to me and helping me up, "I can Air Bend." "Nice, more stuff to learn," I grumbled, rubbing my back. 'What's wrong with her?" Aang asked Katara. "She just wants a day off," Katara asked. They were acting like I wasn't even there! "Hello! I'm standing right here! Why don't you ask me?!" I yelled. I could feel the fire in my palms and the Earth rumbling beneath my feet. "Hey, calm down," Aang said, coming over and standing by me again, "there's no need to kill us with your bending." I smiled a little, "your right. No need to kill you, unless you turn evil or something, because then you're dead." "Great, everyone's happy. Now I think you need to get dressed Toph," Katara said. She led Aang out of the room and shut the door. It took me a while to get my clothes on right, you know, with my blindness and all. I finally walked outside, and found Aang Air Bending. He jumped up and then he was gone. I couldn't feel him, wait, there he is. He landed ever so softly behind me. I turned around a faced him. "Ready for practice?" He asked, grabbing my hand and leading me outside. "I thought I was practicing with Katara," I said, pulling away from him. "You pretty much got Water Bending," Katara said from across the room, "I think it's time you started practicing Air Bending." I nodded, and let Aang take my hand again. He led me into a big, open room. Aang let go of my hand and walked away. He came back and put something in my hands. I felt it, it was a balloon. "What is this for?" I asked, twisting the balloon in my hands. "We're going to see how long you can keep the balloon up, without touching it," Aang said, grabbing the balloon from me. He threw it up in the air, and then pulled me under it. "Now, relax, calm yourself, think of peace, and push the air up," he said, backing away from me. I did as he said, and thrust my hands up. I heard something crack, and felt dust on my shoulders and head. I heard another crack, and Aang yell, "Toph, look out!" Aang jumped on me and pushed me to the side. We toppled into the wall and just in time too. The ceiling fell a second later. By the vibrations it sent, it felt as if it would have crushed us. "I think I may need more practice," I said sheepishly. "I think so too," Aang said. I could sense him looking at the damage I made, "and we need a new place to practice."

Chapter 34

Zuko

I heard a crash from the room where Aang and Toph were practicing Air Bending. I ran towards the room with Sokka at my side. I would kill myself if anything happened to Toph. No, I don't like Toph like Aang and Sokka do. I see her more as a little sister, and I even treat her like one. We arrived at the room and stopped in the door way. There was a big hole in ceiling, and it the big chunk was all over the floor. Aang and Toph sat against the far wall. Aang looked over at us, "I think we need to practice outside, she Earth Bended the ceiling apart." I nodded and looked at the hole in the ceiling. Sokka walked over the rubble and helped Toph across, Aang Air Bended himself and Air Ball and rod it across the rubble. I stepped through the doorway and got out of the way of Toph and Sokka. He pulled her through and into the main room. "What's his problem?" Aang asked, landing next to me. "Your guess is as good as mine," I said, watching Toph and Sokka disappear into the main room. I then sensed someone behind me. I turned around and struck my stance, waiting to Fire Bend the person to ashes. I looked around and saw no one. I was about to turn back around, when I got this feeling to look up. I looked up and saw Smellerbee, clinging to the wall post. "What are you doing up there?" I asked, looking up at her. "Darn, you saw me," she said, sliding down, "I was practicing my sneak attacks. So far I snuck up on Jet, Longshot, Katara, Sokka and Aang. Now all I need to do is sneak up on you and Toph." She smiled at me, "looks like I failed on you and you'll be expecting me now. So I need to put you down as a fail. So all I need to do is try to sneak up on Toph." "It sounds like you are asking for a death wish," I said, smiling too. "I will take all risks to get ready for the real fight," she said, sounding serious. "Right now is not a good time to sneak up on Toph," I said, looking over at the main room, "she just nearly missed a visit from death with Aang." "How?" Smellerbee asked, her eyes widening. I pointed into the ruined room. "Wow," she muttered, looking inside, "that girl sure knows how to destroy stuff." I nodded in agreement, "good thing Aang was there too. She would have been squashed like a bug if he didn't push her out f the way." "What were they doing in there?" She asked, coughing from the leftover dust. "Air Bending practice," Aang answered, "but it looks like she decided to Earth Bend and almost get us killed." Smellerbee nodded, then walked over to the doorway of the main room. She took a peek inside, "there's no yelling, only talking." Aang and I walked over and peeked in too. "Hey," Aang yelled to them, "we still need to practice. I only have one month and two weeks until Toph is on her own. I kind of want to teach her while I can!" Toph bounced off of the couch, said bye to Sokka, and turned to Aang. "Let's do this, Twinkle Toes," she said, pounding her fist in her palm.

Chapter 35

Aang

After the incident with the ceiling, I decided to practice with Toph outside. I led her out to the courtyard, which was in the middle of the whole house. "Were not practicing by the pool?" She asked, stomping her foot on the ground. "Hey, no temper tantrums here," I said, falling to the shaking ground. "No, I'm not having a temper tantrum," she said, crossing her arms, "I'm feeling the vibrations in the Earth. You now that Aang, that's how I see." "Oh, right," I said. I could feel my cheeks turn pink. I turned around and picked a leaf off the tree. I opened Toph's hand and set it in her palm. "No balloon this time?" Toph asked, fingering the leaf. "That was my last balloon," I said, picking another leaf for me. Toph gave me an evil smile, "then why don't we go get more?" "For two reasons, one, last time you left the house, you almost got caught. And two, I can't drive, you can't drive, and Zuko probably won't take us." Toph's smile got bigger, "oh, I think we can survive without a car."

Toph ran into her room and pulled out her skateboard. "I don't think your skateboard will fit two people Toph," I said, looking at her skateboard. "It will, Zuko and I rode it last month. I t may be a tight squeeze though," Toph said. Before I could stop her, she ran out the door, stopping at the main table and grabbing five dollars from the money jar. She went into the street and hopped on her skateboard. She held her hand out to me, "come on don't be scared! It's fun!" I carefully got onto her skateboard, not wanting to fall over. "What's the problem Twinkle Toes?" Never been on a skateboard before?" Toph asked, turning her head around a little. "I've been on them, just not for long," I said, trying to balance myself. "Don't worry, I'll go slow," She said, pushing us away from the house. She started speeding up, and I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, trying to stay on the board. We went faster and faster. "I thought you said we were going to go slow!" I yelled over the wind, tightening my grip on her shoulders. "We are going slow!" Toph called back, barley missing almost getting hit by a car. The driver looked out of his window, and gave us a hand signal that I wish I didn't see. "Can't you watch where you're going?" "No," Toph said, pointing at her eyes. "Oh, right, sorry." We arrived at the store, and I jumped off the skateboard, thankful to be on nonmoving ground. "Come on Twinkle Toes, it wasn't that bad," Toph said, flipping up her skateboard. I got off the ground and brushed myself off. Toph took her hat off and brushed her fingers through her hair. She put her hat back on, and walked into the store. Or almost did, she ran into the door first. I ran to her and helped her up, "Toph, the door says 'pull,' not 'walk into me.'" "Ha ha, very funny Twinkle Toes," Toph said, brushing herself off. She was wearing khaki shorts with a yellow and green tank top that had that the Earth Symbol on it (the circle symbol). She had green converses, but if you looked at the bottom, you would see the bottom of her feet. Her hat was a green baseball cap with white puffballs on the side (like her head piece she wore in her past life) and she wore it backwards. Her meteor bracelet was wrapped around her upper arm, like she always wore it. I looked down and saw that I was wearing my favorite jacket, red with blue arrows running down the sides of my arms. I wore a grey ski hat with a blue arrow pointing down at my forehead. I wore blue jeans and red running shoes. "Do you think we look like normal teenagers?" I asked Toph studying my outfit. "I'm sure we do," Toph said, "but I can't tell." She waved her hand over her eyes. "Right," I said, opening the door, "I think we'll pass as normal." "Even we're nowhere near normal." I nodded, agreeing. We were nowhere near normal teens. We walked down the aisles of the store, looking for the balloons. We finally found them, and I was about to grab them, but a voice stopped me. "Tara?" I turned around and saw a woman in her late forty's, looking at us. Toph turned her head, away from the woman, hoping she wouldn't see her face, "grab the balloons now." I was about to grab them again, but the woman reached out and grabbed Toph's wrist. "Tara," she said, looking at Toph, "you've got to come home, now." She started pulling Toph away, and I tried to save her. "Lady," I said, running to her side, "you've got the wrong person." The lady looked down at me, "no, I don't. This is my daughter, Tara. She ran away from home, and I am taking her back." She pulled harder on Top's wrist. Toph dropped her skateboard. She tried to pick it up, but her mom pulled her away from it. I tried to pull her away, but her mom had a death grip on her. "Aang, just go," Toph said, "Go get the others, tell them what happened. Get them to come rescue me." And with that, Toph was pulled out the door. Her mom threw her into the car, and drove her away. I picked up Toph's skateboard, and watched her go. "I need to get the others," I said to myself. I hopped on her skateboard, trying not to fall off, and started going back to the house.

Chapter 36

Sokka

I was lying on the couch playing with my boomerang when Aang burst in through the doors. He was out of breath and his face was flushed. I got up, "where's Toph?" Tears filled Aang's eyes, but he wiped them away before they could fall. He was holding Toph's skateboard. I knew something was wrong at once. Toph never let anyone touch her skateboard. "Where is she?" I asked again, looking at Aang. "We went to the store, and her mom found us and…" he trailed off. "And what?" I asked, fear in my voice. "She took her. She grabbed her and took her. I tried to get her back, but I couldn't! Toph told me to come get everyone," he said, a tear falling down his cheek. "She's gone?" I asked, falling to my knees, "the Avatar has been captured? And she doesn't even know Air Bending?" Aang nodded. "It's all my fault, I should have never agreed to go to the store with her, I should have just put my foot down and said no." "It's not your fault Aang, you tired to save her. You also had no idea that her mom was going to be there," I said, getting up, "now we have t figure out how to tell Zuko without him killing us."

"What?!" Zuko screamed, the candles in his room growing bigger. "Calm down Zuko or you'll light the whole place on fire," I said, looking at the big flames on the candles. "How can I calm down? The Avatar was taken and is probably locked up," he said, the flames growing still. Aang used an Air Bending blast and blew out all the candles. "Toph told me we need to go get her, and I will take whatever it takes to get her," Aang said, a serious look on his face. "I agree with Aang, we can't sit here complaining about her being gone. We have to take action," I said, looking over at Zuko. He looked from me to Aang, "alright, what's the plan?"

Chapter 37

Katara

Zuko called us all into the main room for a meeting. When I arrived I sat down n the couch and looked around. Everyone was here, except Toph. "Where's Toph?" I asked, looking around again, thinking I might have missed her. "She's been captured," Zuko said, sorrow in his eyes. I gasped and looked around. Sokka looked away from my gaze. Aang hung his head. Jet looked straight ahead at the wall. Smellerbee went pale, and Longshot had sorrow in his eyes too. "How did she get taken?" I asked after a while of silence. Before Zuko could even open his mouth Aang cried, "It's my fault! I brought Toph to the store, and I couldn't get her back. We are all doomed because of me." I turned to Zuko, "Zuko, what is he talking about? What does he mean by it's all his fault?" "Aang and Toph went to the store to get balloons for Air bending practice, and while they were there, Toph' mother found her. She took her away. Aang tried to get her, but she wouldn't let go of Toph," Zuko said, looking at all of us. Aang shut his eyes, a tear sliding down his cheek, and was followed by another. 'He is silently crying,' I thought, 'he really does think it's his fault.' "Toph asked Aang to gather all of us. She wants us to go get her, rescue her. We only have two months and two weeks until we face Azula. She only has one month and two weeks to learn Air Bending. So we have to get to her, quick. Time is running out," Zuko said, standing up."When do we take action?" Jet asked, chewing on his wheat. "Tomorrow, it's too late today," Zuko said walking out of the room, "it's time we all went to bed. Get a good night's rest because we wake up at six sharp to plan our attack." We all said good night and walked to our rooms. I changed into my pajamas and crawled in bed. No matter how much I tried I couldn't fall asleep. I kept on looking over at Toph's bed, hoping she was alright. Toph and I didn't always get along, but I still worried about her safety. I must have fallen asleep because I was woken up by Sokka shaking me. "Katara, get up, it's six," he said, shaking me even harder. I sat up in bed and Sokka pushed me off my bed. "What was that for Sokka? I was getting up," I said, rubbing my back. Sokka smiled at me, "thought I'd cheer myself up by pushing you off your bed." I rolled my eyes at him. "You are so immature," I said, throwing my pillow at him. He dodged the pillow and laughed, "Just like old times." "Yeah, now why don't you get out of here so I can change," I said, pushing him out the door and slamming the door in his face. I changed quickly and walked into the main room. Everyone was already there and talking about the plans. "I think we just bust the door down and grab her," Jet said, taking a sip of his juice. I sat down next to Sokka. "No, if we do that we are most likely to get arrested," Zuko said, waving the idea away with his hand. He looked at me, "do you have any ideas Katara?" I thought for a while. "Why don't we put our 'powers' into effect," I said, making air quotes during the word "powers," "we do need to practice them in a fight. We can think of this as a prefight." Zuko nodded, "that's right. We have our abilities that we can use." He stood up at the table, "we are going with Katara's idea. Everyone gather your stuff by noon. That's when we attack."

Chapter 38

Toph

"Who do you think you are, running away like that?!" My mother yelled at me. My father was standing next to her. I stayed quiet, trying not to explode in their faces. "You are grounded for a very long time young girl. You get no video games, television, internet, or sports for the next two years!" My father said. I felt him cross his arms. I stayed quiet, looking at the ground. "Look at us when we are talking to you," my mother said, turning my head to her. She gasped when she looked at me. "Tara, w-what happened to your eyes?" I had to hold in a scream. I forgot about my eyes, instead of my old green eyes, I had grey ones. I had blind eyes. "Nothing mother, my eyes have always been like this," I lied, keeping the fear out of my voice. "No, you used to have green eyes Tara," my father said, I could sense him looking at my eyes. I closed my eyes and looked away. "Tara, what happened to your beautiful green eyes?" My mother asked. I could hear the sorrow in her voice. I couldn't tell her truth, and even if I could they would think that I went mad. "I don't know," I lied, standing up, "and it's just an eye color. Why does it matter?" "Tara, it's just not the eye color, it's your pupils," my father said, sitting me back down. 'Oh great,' I thought, 'I forgot that my dad was an eye doctor. He's going to figure out that I'm blind!'I closed my eyes again, and pulled my favorite act. I fell to the ground, my hand on my head. "Tara," my mother said, running to my side, "are you ok honey?" "I-I think so," I said, sounding weak. I started to sit up, but fell backwards onto the floor. My father came over and picked me up. He carried me upstairs to my room and laid me on my bed. "I think you need some sleep Tara," my father said, closing my door. As soon as he left, I got up. I could still feel them beneath my door. "How am I going to get out of here?" I thought, "Hopefully Aang got everyone to come get me." Since there was nothing else to do, I picked up a random magazine on the floor. I opened it and felt the glossy pages. Too bad I couldn't read it. I lay on my bed, waiting for something to happen. It must have been two hours before I finally heard something. There was an explosion downstairs, and vibrations came up to many. People were entering my house, lots of them by the feel of it. I smelled something burning. I tried to open my door but it was stuck. "Help," I yelled, pulling on my door. Then I hit myself on the head with my hand. "Use Earth bending you idiot!" I stepped back, and sent a shock wave to the door. I covered my face to keep the chunks from hitting my face. I jumped down the ground and ran downstairs. "Toph!" I heard Aang yelled, running to my side. "What's going on?" I asked him. "Well, this is our rescue to you, but now it's a full on fight! Azula must have sent armies after us. I guess she wants to see how strong we are," he said, he sent a wind blast and I heard someone fall to the ground. I sensed someone behind me; I turned around and shot a big chunk of Earth at him. "Tara?" I heard my mother's surprised voice to the left. "Oh shoot," I said to Aang, knocking another person off his feet, "I just showed my mom how I can Earth Bend." "She was going to figure out sometime," Aang said, blasting a guy off his feet. I finished him with a slab of Earth to the chest. I heard him fly through the window. I smiled to myself, wishing I wasn't blind so I could see the expression on his face. "Tara," my mother said again, "what are you doing." I turned to her, "please stop calling me Tara. My name is Toph." I straightened my hat and turned back to the fight. I barely missed being hit by a fire ball. I backed away and felt my back touch something. "Want to fight back to back?" I was Zuko. I smiled, "let's do this."I felt around for vibrations. There was a man coming to my right, and by the feel of him, he was big. I threw a shockwave his way. As I expected, it knocked him off his feet. I smiled and threw a fireball at him. It hit his back and sent him crying. I lifted my hand up in victory and someone grabbed my wrist. By the feel of it, it was another man. He twisted my wrist behind my back. It was painful, and I fell to my knees. I wouldn't let him feel victory, I wouldn't ever. I sent my leg up and it hit him in the chest. He let go of my wrist, and I punched him in the arm, hard. I felt him hit the ground. "How many of them are there," I yelled over the commotion. "Only a couple more," Sokka yelled back at me. I guy ran up from behind me, and I punched him in the face. I sent an Earth Wave behind me and sent him through the wall. "We're done here," Smellerbee said. I felt the last guy fall to the floor. "Tara, what happened here?" My mother asked. I felt her coming closer to me. The right thing to do was tell her about my new life. But instead I yelled, "Run!" We all ran out of there, leaving behind all the damage and my poor parents. Watching their only child work some odd powers and run off, all in less that twenty-four hours.

Chapter 39

Zuko

We ran out of Toph's house as fast as we could. We bolted out the door and down the street. "Did we really just destroy my house?" Toph asked. "Yeah," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "sorry." Toph knocked my hand off her shoulder. "Sorry? That was awesome! We were all like, POW, and take that!" Best day ever," she said, punching the air. We all laughed at her and piled in my car. "I think you need a new car," Katara said. She was squished up against the window. "Yeah, this car is made for four to five people, not eight people," I said, starting the car up. I pulled away from the house. "Ok, who's touching me?" Toph asked from the back seat. "Sorry," Aang said, "it's kind of cramp back here. Had to put my hand somewhere." Toph flicked his hand off her knee, "keep on your lap." She smiled, "I missed you guys." "We all missed you to Toph," Katara said. "You should have seen Aang and Sokka, they were a mess," Jet said, laughing. "Even if I was there, I wouldn't be able t see anyway," Toph said, "but I'm sure it was hilarious." "Ok, drop it guys," Sokka said. He was in the passenger's seat. Smeller bee was in the middle of us, not really on a seat though. "You sure you're comfortable?" I asked her. "Yes Zuko, for the millionth time, I'm fine," Smellerbee said, crossing her arms. We arrived at the house. I got out and opened the backdoor of the car. Everyone tumbled out, sprawling on the ground. "Well," Toph said, turning over so that she was on her back, "that was an interesting way to get out of the car." She got up and brushed herself off, "so good to be back." She walked inside and sat down on the couch. "So, all I missed was a big worry party?" "Yep," Smellerbee said, "we were all worried though." Toph smiled, loving the attention. "Good to feel loved," she said, kicking her feet up. She then turned to Aang, "hey Twinkle Toes, where's my skateboard?" "Wait a second, I'll go get it." Aang ran out of the room and came back a couple minutes later with Toph's skateboard. He handed it to her. "Thanks," Toph said, grabbing her skateboard, "I thought you left it at the store." Aang laughed and sat down next to her, "would I forget your prized possession?" Toph waved away the question with her hand, then she turned to face him. "Air bending practice?" Aang smiled and took her hand and led her outside to the courtyard. I looked over and saw Sokka scowling at the ground. "They're just friends," I said, sitting next to him. "Friends," he spat, "I doubt it."

Chapter 40

Aang

"There you go Toph!" I said, watching as Toph held the balloon up for more than two minutes. A month had passed, so that meant that I only had two weeks to help Toph with Air Bending until she was on her own, and one month and two weeks until the final showdown. "Can I try something else?" Toph asked, blowing the balloon up higher and higher. "Like what?" I asked. I was leaning against the tree, watching her practice. "Like an air ball? Wall run? Something other than making a balloon float," she said, sighing. I stood up and walked over to her. "Straighten your arms," I said, grabbing her wrists, "it looks like you're trying to hold up the sky." I straightened her arms, and the balloon flew even higher. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I know what I'm doing. Now tell me how to do something cool!" I sighed in defeat, "fine, watch what I do." Toph crossed her eyes and looked at me. I hit my forehead with my hand. "Sorry Toph, keep on forgetting," I said, "how about you show me how you think an air ball is made." I sat back and watched Toph twirl the air. She moved her hands in the shape of the ball, and concentrated hard. After a while, she asked, "Am I even doing this right?" I laughed, "Nope. Just wanted to see how long you would keep that up." She shot an Earth shockwave at me, and I hit the tree, hard. I opened my eyes and saw her looking down at me her arms crossed. A smile spread across her face and she laughed. "Oh man, Twinkle Toes," she said, grabbing her stomach, "I wish I could see the look on your face. It must have been priceless!" I scrambled up from the ground. "I knew you were going to do that," I lied, feeling my cheeks grow hot. "Liar!" Top said, still laughing. "Shut up Toph," I said, knowing that my face was bright red. "No way, Twinkle Toes! I'm going to laugh till I die!" She fell to the ground. "Stand up Toph," I said, helping her up. She wiped the tears from her blind eyes. "Ok," she said, taking a deep breath, "I'm done." "Ok, now get back to the balloon," I looked around for the balloon, "where is it?" Toph started laughing again. "It's…. in…. the….tree," she said through gasps of breath. "How is that funny?" I asked her, looking up in the tree. "It's funny because you have to go get it, and it's at the top of the tree. I made sure it landed high," she said, calming down. "Why can't you go get it?" I asked, looking up at the tree. Sure enough, the balloon was at the top. "Because then I will die because if I fall, which is very likely, I can't Air Bend to slow myself down. You can do that though, so you must go get it. Here, I'll help you get started," Toph said. Before I could ask what she meant by "help me up" she sent a slab of Earth under me. I flew up to the middle of the tree and hung on for my life. "Hurry up Twinkle toes, or I'll send afire ball after you," Toph called up to me. I knew she was serious, so I started climbing the tree as fast as I could. I reached the top and grabbed the balloon. "How do I get down?" I called down to Toph. "How am I supposed to know, I can't even see you!" She called back. I sighed, "I'm going to jump!" "Are you crazy?" "Don't worry, I'll use Air Bending to catch myself." I took a deep breath and jumped out of the tree. I stuck my hands out so that it looked like I was taking a dive. I started bending a safety net if air to land on. Before I could land on it though, something else caught me in midair. It brought me down slowly and set me down carefully. I looked around and saw Toph, her arms out stretched, concentration was twisted on her face. She set me down and dropped her arms. She looked like she was about to faint. I ran over to her side and caught her before she hit the ground. "Toph, are you ok?" I asked, looking into her eyes. "You're heavy," she said before passing out.

Chapter 41

Sokka

"A little help here?" I heard Aang yell from the courtyard. I looked around and saw nobody else. I sighed and got off the couch. I put down the book I was reading and walked outside. I looked around for Aang, and then I saw him under the tree. I walked to his side. I saw Toph in his arms, passed out. "What happened?" I asked, sitting down next to him. "She was Air bending me down from the tree, and I guess it was just much for her," Aang said, playing with a strand of her hair. I slapped his hand away. "Why were you in the tree?" I asked, looking up at the tree. It was pretty tall. Only and idiot would climb up there. "I needed to get the balloon down for practice," he said, also looking up. I squinted up at the tree. "On an unrelated note, what color was the balloon?" "Blue," Aang said, "why?" I smiled, "because it's still in the tree."

I helped Aang pick Toph up and walk her to her room, and we laid her on her bed. Zuko appeared in the door way. "Still need help Aang?" He then looked over at Toph. "What happened to her?" "She fainted while Air Bending," Aang told him, "she must have used too much of her inner energy." Zuko nodded, saying that that made sense. I didn't get it. "Inner energy?" I asked, trying to figure out what he meant by that. "It's the energy you channel from within," Zuko said, he Fire Bended a flame on his hand, "you're only supposed to use a little. Toph must have used all hers up. That's why she passed out." I stared at him, still not able to figure out what he meant. Aang saw the questioning look on my face. "It's a bender thing," he said, "I don't think nonbenders use their inner energy." "No, I don't think so either," I said, sounding hurt. I know I'm not a bender, and I'm fine with it, but when people separate us from the benders, I feel hurt. We are all the same people; it's just that some people can control the elements. Aang put his hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry Sokka. I didn't mean to put it like that. Even though Katara, Zuko, Toph and I have bending, nonbenders still beat us at fighting." I smiled and nodded, "you're right. We do succeed in fighting with swords and Kun Fu." Smellerbee came running down the hall. She stopped at the room we were in and looked at us. "Have you guys seen Longshot?" She asked, out of breath, "I can't find him." "Why do you need Longshot?" Zuko asked, looking over at her. "He took my honey bun and I want it back," she said, crossing her arms, "so have you seen him or not?" Zuko sighed, "Nope, haven't seen him." Smeller sighed too, then looked over at Toph. "What's with her?" "She fainted!" Aang said, throwing his hands in the air, "how many times do I have to say it?" Smellerbee threw her hands up in surrender, "don't ask me! I'm just an innocent by stander." And with that she ran off, in look for Longshot. "We have some weird girls here," I said, watching her leave. "I think we're all a little weird," Aang said. "Agree."

Chapter 42

Katara

I yawned and continued my practice. I've been up since five a.m. working on this one Water Bending move. It was at least ten o' clock at night, and I was exhausted. I wanted to go and sleep forever. "No," I told myself for what felt like the millionth time, "you only have a month until you fight." Two weeks has passed, and Toph was on her own to master Fire, Water, and Air (she already mastered Earth). I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, almost falling asleep. I snapped my head up, making sure I would fall asleep. I raised my hands above the water again, bringing it up and down, up and down. After a while, I held the water up in towering form. I concentrated on the water and the image of ice. I took another deep breath and urged the water to turn to ice. I pushed against the invisible force, breaking through the wall that prevented me from reaching my goal. The force lifted, almost making me fall into the pool. I looked up at my tower of water, expecting it to come crashing down on me, s it always did. My eyes widened in surprise and what I saw. Instead a tower of ice stood in front of me. I smiled, "I did it." After a couple of minutes of celebrating with myself, I remembered the other part of my goal. "Now I have to turn it back into water," I said to myself, "shouldn't be too hard." I was wrong. I put my hands back out and tried to push the water back down into water, but nothing happened. I tried and tried and tried again, but nothing happened. "You've got to be kidding me," I said to the ice after I tried for the hundredth time. "Wow," I said to myself, "I think I just reached my lowest point. I'm talking to a tower of ice." I cleared my mind and turned back to the ice. "Concentrate Katara, just focus on melting the ice…." I closed my eyes and stuck my hands out again. I pictured the ice melting at my fingertips. I opened my eyes and saw the big chunk of ice melting in the cool, crisp, fall air. I smiled and pushed it all the way down. Soon there was no more ice, just blue water. My smile got bigger, "I did it. I'm going to be a Water Bending master!" "I'm sure you are." I jumped back and fell into the pool at the sound of the stranger's voice. I pushed myself up and gasped for breath. I looked over the side of the pool and saw Toph standing against the door. "Why did you jump in the pool?" She asked, smiling, "hope I didn't scare you." "You are so going to pay for this Toph."

Chapter 43

Toph

"Why aren't you practicing Toph?" Zuko asked me. He's been nagging at me to practice my bending ever since the one month mark came upon us. "I just finished practicing Water bending, can't I have a break?" I asked. I was exhausted, bending practice can take the most out of you. "Fine, you have five minutes. I would suggest you practice Air next because it looks like your week point. And don't forget that you still have to practice Earth and metal, even though you mastered them," he said, I sensed him waving his figure at me. "I got it! Now can I have my five minutes of rest?" I asked, falling on the couch. "Fine," he huffed, walking out of the room. Finally, peace and quiet. I laid my head back and closed my eyes."Wait, one more thing," Zuko said, walking back into the room. "Just leave!" I yelled at him, sending a fireball his way. "Fine, fine," He said, exiting the room again. I closed my eyes again and sighed. Happy to sit down for once today, even if it was only for five minutes. "Hey," I heard Sokka enter the room and sit next to me, "how's practice?" "Tiring," I said, yawning, "I can't wait for this to be over." "Let's just hope that everything will turn out the way we all want it too," Sokka said, grabbing my hand. I nodded, remembering our future dream. "I do to, I don't want to die," I felt tears filling up in my eyes, "I want to live. I don't want to let everyone down." I finally felt the pressure that I had at being the Avatar. Sokka pulled me in and gave me a hug. "I won't let you die," he said soothingly, "they'll have to go through me." I smiled a weak smile, "Thanks Sokka, I'll appreciate those last thirty seconds." "Hey," he said defensively, "I can protect people!" "Sokka, you know there's a difference, right?" I asked, sitting up, "You can protect people, but letting them get passed you is another thing. You're like a wall then." He chuckled, "Toph Bei-Fong, why do I even love you?" "You love me because I'm me," I said, hugging him. I got up and started walking to the courtyard. "Where are you going?" Sokka asked, walking after me. "Air Bending practice, Zuko only gave me a five minute break," I said, opening the door.

Chapter 44

Zuko

"We have two weeks!" I yelled down the hall, "so wake up and get practicing!" Pressure was high in everyone; we only had two more weeks until we face Azula. Two more weeks until we meet our destiny. Two more weeks until we found out if Toph was going to live. Toph stumbled out of her room. "Zuko," she said, yawning, "why do you keep on getting us up earlier and earlier each day? You know we stay up later each night already to practice. If you keep this up then we are not going to have any time to sleep." I sighed, she did have a point. "Fine, you guys get one more hour of sleep," I said, "but if you aren't in the main room by five, then you better have inflammable skin." I walked back into my room and lay down on my bed. I lay there for w couple minutes, not knowing what to do. I decided to go outside and practice. I walked outside into the pool area. I took a deep breath and shot fire at one of the pool chairs. It caught on fire. I went over to it and gathered the fire. I tossed the fireball in my hand up and down. I sighed, feeling bored with practicing. "I have to do it though," I said, throwing the fireball at the chair, then getting rid of it before it reached its target. I yawned and decided to lie back against the small tree that was in the grassy area. I sat down against the tree and closed my eyes. Not for long though. I heard rustling in the bushes. I stood up and got in my battle stance. The rustling stopped. 'It's probably just a squirrel,' I thought to myself, turning my back to the bush. As soon as I turned my back, I felt someone behind me. Before I could turn around, I felt someone hit my pressure point and the world went black.

Chapter 45

Aang

We all gathered in the main room at five a.m. sharp like Zuko said. "Where's Zuko?" Jet asked, looking around, "he should be here. I didn't wake up this early just to sit here." "It is odd," Katara said, "he should have been the first one here. Who was the first one here by the way?" Toph raised her hand, "I was I couldn't fall back asleep so I just came in here and waited. That was about fifteen minutes ago." "Did you see Zuko here?" Katara asked. "No," Toph said, pointing to her eyes, "but I also didn't feel him. Maybe he went out to take a walk or something?" "I doubt it," I said, crossing my arms, "Zuko said no more leaving the house." "Is he practicing?" Sokka asked, leaning back in his chair and looking through the windows. "I don't feel him," Toph said, getting out of her chair and placing her palm on the ground. "Then where is he?" Jet asked, chewing on his wheat, "I could have been sleeping by now. But no, I had to get up early just to sit here and figure out where Zuko is." "Toph," I said, "do you feel him anywhere in the house?" Toph stomped her foot on the ground then dropped to her knees. She felt across the ground as if she was looking for her lost glasses. "No, I don't feel him anywhere." "What if he got taken," Katara asked, biting her nails. Sokka slapped her hand away, "stop biting your nails, it's bad for you." "I think we should all split up and look around for Zuko," Toph said, standing up, "we'll split into groups of two. Katara and Sokka, you go look in the bedroom hall and his bedroom. Longshot and Smellerbee, go look in the parking lot and see if his car is still there, then go look through the courtyard, and Aang and I will search through the pool area." "What about me?" Jet asked, standing up. "You look in the kitchen and here," Toph said, "everybody knows where they're going, right?" Everyone said they knew where they were going. "Alright, everyone split up. We'll meet back here in an hour."

I followed Toph outside to the pool area. As soon as we got outside, she stopped cold. I ran into her and knocked her t the ground. "Sorry," I said, helping her up, "why did you stop?" "I feel something," she said, dropping to the ground again. "What do you feel?" I asked, standing next to her. "It's something coming our way," Toph said, concentrating on the ground, "wait, it's gone." She stood up and brushed herself off. "So nothing?" I asked, watching her. "If it was anything, it wasn't a major threat. As soon as she said that, I heard something in the air. I looked around and saw the source of the sound; a metal ninja star was hurdling right towards us! I grabbed Toph's hand and pulled her down to the ground. The ninja star flew over our heads and hit the small tree. Toph got up and walked towards the tree. "What is it?" She asked, reaching out to touch the point of the ninja star. I ran over to her and pulled her hand back, "Careful Toph, that's sharp." I looked at the tree and saw a note attached to the ninja star. I pulled it off and opened it. "What is it?" Toph asked, still looking at the tree. "It's a note," I said, reading it."What does it say?" She asked, looking over at me. I read the note out loud:

"_Dear Avatar,_

_By now you must have noticed that you are missing someone to your little team. I have captured Zuko and the only way you can get him back is if you surrender. If not, then I will enjoy seeing you and your team suffer in two weeks. Maybe you would like to know where you will be facing me now. Hm? I am at the fiery cave across the town. Hope to see you suffer here in two weeks._

_From,_

_Princess Azula and friends."_

We stood there for a while, letting the note sink in. Toph cleared her throat, "Well, I guess we know where Zuko is now."

Chapter 46

Sokka

An hour later we all returned to the main room. Katara and I were the last to arrive because Katara wanted to take her sweet time. When we arrived Aang and Toph were sitting on the couch, Smellerbee and Longshot on the ground and Jet was in one of the chair. Katara sat in the Chair next to Jet and I went and sat down next to Toph. I looked at Toph and saw worry in her eyes. She stood up and "looked" at all of us. "I want reports, now," she said sternly, "Smellerbee, Longshot, what did you find?" Smellerbee looked at Longshot then stood up. "Zuko's car is still there," she said, "and there was nothing in the courtyard." Toph nodded, "Jet?" "Nothing," Jet said, leaning back in his chair. Toph sighed, "Katara, Sokka?" "We found nothing on where he's gone," Katara said, speaking for the two of us, "but I did find out that he keeps his room clean." "Ok, and I'm not interested in how he keeps his room Katara," Toph said, shaking her head. "What did you and Aang find?" Smellerbee asked, looking at the paper in Aang's hand. "We found out where Zuko is," Aang said, standing up. He opened the paper and read what was on it out loud. After he read the letter, we all fell silent. "Azula has Zuko?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Yes," Toph said, "and she wants us to surrender. If we surrender then she'll let him go." "You're not going to surrender, are you?" Jet asked, sitting up straight. "I don't know. I want to fight, but I don't want you all to suffer because I decided to fight," Toph said, hanging her head. "I know what we're not going to do," he said, standing up, "we are not giving up." "But I don't want you all to suffer," Top said, looking over at him, "I don't want anyone to die because of me." "If you give up, then we will all die," Katara said, "but if you stay and not surrender, then we'll all have a chance to save everyone. Toph, please, don't surrender." "You guys sure you won't blame me if you suffer?" "Promise," we all said in unison (except Longshot he doesn't talk). Toph smiled at all of us. "Good, now let's do this."

Chapter 47

Katara

"When do we go get Zuko?" I asked. "We get him during the fight," Toph said. "Not before? Are you nuts? We need Zuko," I said, staring at her. "Yes, we need him, but we are going to wait to get him. Zuko's a big boy Katara, he can take care of himself," Toph said, looking at me with her blind eyes, "right now we need to concentrate on ourselves." I nodded, I understood what she meant, but I didn't want to believe it. "There's one thing I don't get about that letter," Sokka said, taking it from Aang and studying it. "What?" Aang asked, taking it back from him and looking at it. Sokka took the paper back from Aang, "Azula signed it "Princess Azula and friends," who are her friends?" "Sokka," I snapped at him, "even an evil crazy princess can have friends!" "Yes, she can," Sokka said, crossing his arms at me. "But we don't know who they are," Toph said, finishing for him. "What do you mean by 'who are they?' Do you think one of us could be a 'Friend' of Azula's?" Jet asked, making finger quotations around the word "friend." "I don't know for sure, but one of us could easily change sides because they don't want to lose," Toph said, looking around at all of our faces, "even though I can't see anyone's face, I know that everyone wants to win. There is determination on everyone's face and in their heart. But I can't even imagine any one of us betraying us. So, let's just hope that we are all in our right mind." "Who's going to be in charge for the next two weeks? Who's going to lead us into battle? We need a leader," Smellerbee said, looking over at Jet, then back to Toph. "I'll be the leader," Toph said, "even though I'm not the oldest like Zuko, I am the Avatar. And as the Avatar I plan to keep everyone safe, I also plan to lead anyone who needs leading. I am here for you guys, and I know that you are here for me. So, who wants me to lead?" One by one we all raised our hands. "Is that a no?" Toph asked after a while. We all laughed. "No, Toph," I said, still laughing, "we all want you to be our leader; we all just raised our hands instead of saying so." "What don't you guys get?" Toph asked waving her hands in front of her eyes, "I am blind!"

Chapter 48

Toph

We all left the room. I left with more pressure than I ever had! I just got rid of the pressure of being the Avatar, and now I have to new pressure of being the leader. I walked out of the room, and walked into the courtyard. I went over to the tree and sat down against the trunk. "Why did I take that leader position?" I asked myself, closing my eyes and leaning my head against the bark. "Probably because you didn't want the position to fall into the wrong hands." I jumped as Aang walked into the courtyard. He came over and sat down next to me. "You're probably right," I said, looking over at him, "anyone of us can be 'friends' with Azula." I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder, "This is just too much pressure for me." "At least you aren't twelve," Aang said. He sounded as if her were dazed. I looked back into my past life, remembering that Aang found out that he was the Avatar at the age of twelve, not sixteen. "Yeah, I am older than you were, but you had a whole year to learn the elements, and you also already knew Air. Also, you're teachers already knew their element. I only have six months, which is now down to two weeks, to learn the elements. I barely knew Earth Bending, and I had to learn from teachers who just learned their elements." "Hey, you already knew Earth and metal bending," Aang said, shifting under me so that he was facing me (or, I think he was facing me, I couldn't tell.) I took my hands in hi, "if you ever need to talk Toph, I'm here. I know what you're going through. I went through the same thing." I smiled at him, "you're right Aang. I shouldn't keep this pressure to myself. I need someone to talk too." Aang pulled me into him and kissed me on the lips. Then he got up. I felt dazed; I was still trying to figure out what just happened. I heard him chuckle and leave. I leaned back against the tree and smiled to myself. "Feels good to be loved by two different guys."

Chapter 49

Zuko

I woke up in some strange place. It wasn't my room in the house or even my old room. It was dark and warm. I heard a door opened and a light shine in my eyes. I covered my eyes with my hand and looked over to the door. "Well, good morning Zuzu," a voice said from the door, "it's about time you woke up." "Who are you?" I asked, looking away from the light. "Oh Zuzu, you don't recognize me?" The figure stepped inside my room. It was a girl. She had black hair and amber eyes.. She looked just like me. "Azula," I said, trying to get up. It felt like there was a force pushing me down, I couldn't get up. "Don't even try Zuko, it's no use. You've been Chi Blocked," Azula said, walking over to me. "What do you want with me?" I asked, still trying to control my muscles. "I want you to join us Zuzu," Azula said, playing with my hair. "Who's us?" I asked, looking around. "Girls, come in here," Azula called out the door. Two figures walked through the door. One was limber with long, braided brown hair. The seconded I had to take a double take on. "Mai?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. I tried to sit up again, but failed."I'm sorry Zuko," Mai said, hanging her head, "I wanted to tell you, but then you wouldn't trust me." "I shouldn't have trusted you Mai. I did, but now I can't. Mai, you gave me my memory and you brought us the Freedom Fighters. Why are you all of a sudden on Azula's side?" "I've always been on Azula's side Zuko," Mai said, she had no feeling in her voice what so ever, "I just helped you out a little. We needed you to get the Team together so that we could fight you. So to tell the truth, I wasn't really helping you out in a good way, I was helping you become closer to your doom." "So, Zuzu, will you join us?" Azula asked, holding her hand out to me, "or will we have to throw you in the dungeon?" I sat there and thought. I didn't want to betray Team Avatar, but I also didn't want to get thrown in the dungeon. Azula looked at me, waiting for my answer. I looked over at Mai and the other girl. Mai was looking at me, also waiting for my answer. The other girl looked from me to Azula to Mai, then back again. I looked over at Azula again. "We're waiting Zuzu," she said, "My hand is getting tired." I took Azula's hand. "I'm on your side. This will be the end of Team Avatar." Azula smiled at me. "Yes," she said, helping me up, "this shall be the end of Team Avatar."

Chapter 50

Aang

"Why can't you help me with my Air Bending?" Toph asked. She was standing in our doorway, her back pressed again the frame. "You know what Zuko said, you're on your own," I said, turning around from her and getting back to practice. Toph sighed then walked over to me. She put her arms around my shoulder and leaned into me. "How about now?" She whispered in my ear. I turned my head and looked into her eyes. "No," I whispered. Toph pushed me down and walked out of the room, grumbling to herself. I sat up right as Sokka walked into the room. "What's her deal?" He asked, sitting down on his bed. "I wouldn't help her with her Air Bending," I said, stretching my back. "How close did she get to you this time?" Sokka asked. It's been a week since Zuko went missing, and ever since then Toph has been asking for help with her Air Bending. Every time I said no, which was every time, Toph kept on hugging me, asking me if I would help her then. Again, I would say no, and then she would stomp out of the room. "She got to whispering in my ear," I said, standing up, "but I told her no again." Sokka was ok with Toph trying to get me to help her with Air Bending, but he did have his limits. "Next time push her away," Sokka said. I could see the hurt in his eyes. I nodded. "Don't worry Sokka, I won't try to let Toph get any closer to me," I said. It was a total lie. I wanted Toph to be mine, but I was also Sokka's friend. So these little advances from Toph were like Heaven to me, even if they were just for Air Bending help. Sokka gave me a little smile then stood up. "I better go calm her down before she starts and Earth quake," he said, rushing out the door.

Toph called us all into a group meeting that night. "We have one more week until we face Azula. One more week to prepare, and one more week until we find out our own fates. So I want everyone to get a good night's sleep, then meet back here at eight a.m. I don't want any slacking off this week, so that means if you're not in here by eight, then I'm going to send a fireball or Earth slab your way," Toph said, glancing at everyone, "now to the topic of Zuko. I don't know whose side he'll be on after two weeks with Azula. If he does happen to stray over to Azula's side, then we must fight him. No questions about it, and I don't want anyone calling him a trader. I bet you if you were locked over with Azula for two weeks, you'll switch sides too." "I wouldn't switch sides. I would stay on our side, even if it meant killing me," Jet said, slouching in his chair. "Why don't you tell that to Azula, face to face, Jet," Toph said, glaring at him. Jet threw his hands up in surrender, "hey, I'm only trying to keep a positive mind here." Toph sighed, "I think we all just better turn in for the night now. I'll see you all in the morning." With that, Toph walked out of the room. We all looked at each other when her door slammed shut. "Is something wrong with her?" Smellerbee asked, looking at me, Sokka, and Katara. "She's stressed," I said, "being the Avatar is a big responsibility, and now she has the responsibility of being the leader." "She also has that pressure from her dream," Sokka said, "we're hoping that we can change the future so that she won't die, but there is still that sliver of doubt between us. We don't know if we can change it." Smellerbee nodded, "that would make a lot of sense. I would be stressing if I were her too." We felt the ground shaking at turned to the doorway. Toph came stomping into the room. "I said, it's time we all turned in for the night," she said. She sounded a little angry, but mostly tired. "But what if we're not tired yet?" Jet asked bravely. "Then go outside and swim ten laps in the pool and run twenty laps around the courtyard," Toph said, pointing towards the door. Jet let out a fake yawn, "you know what, I am tired now. Well, good night everybody!" Jet ran out of the room and down the hall. Toph went back to her room and we all followed and went into ours. None of us wanted to run and swim at this hour.

Chapter 51

Katara

I woke up to someone shaking me. I sat up and yawned, then looked over to see who the person was. Toph stood there; tears were running down her cheeks. I turned on my lamp, "what's wrong?" Toph only stood there, staring at the wall. Fresh tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. I got up and led her to her bed and sat her down. I went back over to my bed and sat down. "Toph," I said again, "what's wrong?" Toph closed her eyes and cried harder. I walked over to her and patted her back. "Come on Toph, you can tell me," I cooed, trying to get her to talk. Toph but her face in her hands and shook her head. "Then why did you wake me up if you don't want to talk?" I asked, standing up. I was about to go back to bed when I remembered a saying I used to say. "I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me." I turned around and sat down next to Toph. I looked at the clock by her bed. It was three o' clock in the morning. "Toph," I tried again, "please tell me what's wrong." Toph pulled her head out of her hands. He eyes were red and her cheeks were tear stained. She closed her, and then reopened them. She opened her mouth as if she were about to speak, then shut it. She blinked back tears. She wiped them away then took a deep breath. "Another dream," was all she said before she started crying again. I patted her back again, trying to figure out what she meant by 'another dream.' Toph wiped her eyes again and cleared her throat. "I had another future dream," she said, fighting back the tears, "a-and this one was even worse. I died, but not because of Azula. I died because a friend killed me. My friend teamed up with Azula and shot me down. They surrounded me. Then they blast their element at me, and then I woke up." "Who was the friend?" I asked, putting my hands in my lap. Toph looked like she was dazed. She stared into the wall without blinking. After a while of that, I thought she fell asleep with her eyes open. I got up to move to my bed. As soon as I sat down, Toph muttered one word. It was so quite, I almost didn't hear it. That one word though had the biggest effect on me. I couldn't belie my ears. I didn't want to believe what I just heard, yet I knew it was true and there was nothing I could change about it. "Zuko."

Chapter 55

Sokka

"Sokka, get you lazy butt up!" Katara shouted from the other side of the door, "you to Aang!" I propped myself up on my elbow and looked at the clock. Seven fifty-five it read. I jumped out of bed. "Oh shoot Aang; we only have five minutes before eight. I really don't want to get burned by Toph," I said, getting dressed as quickly as I could. Aang hopped out of bed and also got dressed. "How come the alarm clock didn't go off?" He asked, grabbing his arrow hat and putting it on. It concealed most of his brown hair, but some of it dropped down from the edge of his hat and covered some of his grey eyes. "I could have sworn I set it to go off twenty-five minutes ago." I shrugged and put on my blue tennis shoes. "Maybe we slept through it." Aang nodded, "I believe that we would do that." Aang pulled on his jacket and put on his shoes. "Ready," he said, opening the door. I checked the clock. "Dude, we better run! We only have less than a minute," I said to him, running out the door. I pushed past him and ran even faster. Aang rushed after me. We ran through the doorway into the main room. Toph stood right in front of the door way, her arms crossed. "It's about time both of you got here," she said. "Sorry," I said, looking her in the eyes, "we over slept." "I can tell. I felt you running like you were getting chased by the Fire Nation," she said, her arms still crossed. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were tear stained. She looked like she was about to fall asleep by the way she swayed to the side a little. Her hair was a mess, and her hat was tipped to far to the left. Her shoes were on the wrong feet, and her short was on backwards. Katara didn't look any better. Her hair was in the messiest braid I've ever seen, and her outfit didn't match. She wore a dark blue shirt with green splatters, and light pink jeans. One of her shoes was red, and the other was purple. She also looked tired, and has to keep pinching herself to stay awake. I was about to ask what happened when I noticed Jet shaking his head. He then pointed at his arm. He had a burn mark the size of a kiwi. I nodded, understanding what he meant. He didn't want us to ask what was wrong, or we could, if we wanted to be burned. I elbowed Aang and motioned for him to go sit down. He nodded and we headed for the chairs. I took the chair next to Katara, and Aang sat next to Longshot. "Now that we are all here," Toph said, glaring at me and Aang, "I can tell you all of what happened last night." She looked over at Katara, and started explaining. "Last night, I had another future dream," she said. "Better or worse?" I asked, looking at her. "Worse," Toph said, swaying to the side a little. He eyes closed slowly. She opened them as soon as they closed. She steadied herself and started again. "I-it was worse. Not only was I shot down and killed by Azula, but she had help by a friend. One of OUR friends," she said, tears filling her eyes. "Who?" Aang asked. I tightened my grip on the table; it was so tight that my knuckles turned white. Toph swayed to the side again. "I-it was…" Toph fell to the ground. We all rushed to her side. "Toph," I said, shaking her shoulders, "Toph, get up!" Her eyes fluttered open and one word escaped from her lips. "Zuko," she said before her eyes shut.

Chapter 56

Toph

I couldn't take it anymore. My eyelids felt heavy and my legs felt like jelly. I kept swaying to the side and my eyes kept closing. My mind kept on telling me to give up, just close your eyes. I kept on ignoring the thought and kept on talking. Finally, I had no choice if I wanted to stay awake or not. I felt myself fall to the ground. I closed my eyes, and I was about to fall into a deep sleep, but I felt someone shaking me. I opened my eyes (even though it didn't make a difference, everything was still black), but as soon as I opened them, they shut again. I knew that I needed to finish what I was saying, but I couldn't reopen my eyes. I had to say what I needed to say, I needed too! I used up the last of my strength to get his name out. "Zuko," I said before losing conscience.

I woke up, breathing hard. I wasn't on the ground anymore, I was on my bed. I felt someone move to my right. I flung my hand out and was about to send a slab towards the person when someone pushed my arm down. "Toph, it's us," Sokka said, pushing my arm down to my side. I tried to sit up, but I felt too weak. I felt a sharp pain in my side all of a sudden. I groaned and put my hand on it. I squeezed my sign and shut my eyes tight. "Toph, are you ok?" I heard Aang ask from the other side of the room. I felt dizzy and I couldn't keep my thoughts straight. "My… side," I managed to say, my mind was fuzzy. Sokka moved my hand away from my side. The pain was getting sharper as if someone was poking a needle in my side. I felt Sokka examine my side. "Katara," he said, "come here." I felt Katara move to my side and look at my side. I then felt something cool touch my skin, then I felt tingly. The pain in my side lessened until it was gone completely. My mind cleared and I felt my strength coming back. I sat up on my hands, "what happened?" "You passed out," Sokka said, "at first we thought you were just tired, but we couldn't wake you up." "What time is it?" I asked, sitting back against the wall and putting my hands in my lap. I shivered and pulled the covers up to chin. "Eight at night," Katara said. She let out a huge yawn, "you were out for twelve hours. Panic raised in my chest. "We lost twelve hours?" I asked. I didn't even try to hide the panic in my voice, "that means we basically lost a full day of preparing! We only have six days now!" My grip tightened on my blanket and I felt sick. "Calm down," Sokka said, touching the top of my hand with his, "we took care of practicing. We took turns sitting with you while the others practice." I let out the breath I was holding back. 'Everything's going to be ok,' I thought to myself, 'it's all under control.' Katara let out another yawn. "I think we should get some sleep," she said, pushing Aang and Sokka out of our room. She closed the door on them. "You to Toph," she said. I felt her climb into her bed. I laid my head back onto my pillow and closed my eyes. 'How am I supposed to fall asleep after twelve hours of rest?'

Chapter 57

Zuko

I walked through the twists and turns of the cave. Mai was by my side. Her hand was in mine. "Feels good to have you trust me again," she said, looking over at me. I squeezed her hand. "It's not hard," I said, looking over at her, "you're like a scar to me. I'm stuck with you." I raised my left hand and touched my scar over my eye. Mai pushed my hand away and gave me a small smile, "nice choice of words there." I smiled back at her, "guess it is." We turned another corner and arrived at the caves middle. Azula and Ty Lee (the mystery girl from earlier) were waiting for us. "About time you two got here," Azula said, examining her nails, "we almost started the meeting without you." "We got lost," Mai said, sitting down next Ty Lee on the couch, "we really need to get a map of this place." "I'll put it into consideration," Azula said, beckoning for me to sit next to her. I sat down and crossed my arms, "what's this meeting about?" "It's about the attack. We only have five days before they come for us," Azula said, laughing, "They really think that they're going to defeat us!" Ty Lee let out a small laugh, but stopped when Azula glared at her. "Then why do we need a meeting if we know that we are going to win?" I asked, looking over at Azula. "Even though we are going to win," Azula said, putting her hands in her lap, "we do need a plan. Any suggestions?" "How about we block their Chi," Ty Lee, "and then take them as prisoners." Azula rolled her eyes. "There's a problem with that Ty Lee," she said, crossing her arms over her chest, "they will get their bending back after a while. So if we lock them in a metal cage, they will most likely escape and fight back, and they'll burn down a wooden one." Ty Lee's smile faded off her face. "Oh," she said, looking at her hands, "that is a problem." Azula then looked over at me. "Wait," she said, "you know the team, right Zuzu?" I nodded. I did know the team, they used to be my friends. Used to be. "Then you know their strengths and weaknesses," Azula said. A smile spread across her face, "we can use that against them! We can take them down and win. Very easy." I nodded again. Azula was right; I did know everyone's strength and weakness. I knew their fears. I knew how strong they were with their bending or weapon. "I do know all that information," I said, "and I'm willing to share it with you." Azula's smile got bigger, "this is going to be as easy as lighting is painful."

Chapter 58

Aang

"Five more days Twinkle Toes!" Toph yelled at me. She was sitting at my side while I practiced Air Bending. "I know," I said back, pulling on my ear. "Do you really need to shout it in my ear?" Toph smiled at me, "of course I do. I need to make sure you know how long we have." Seeing Toph smile at a time like this was like a miracle. After her second future dream everything went from ok to bad. Sokka was mopping around with his boomerang in his hand, and Toph was slacking off on her bending. I was upset to, but I didn't waste my practice time. "Shouldn't you be practicing?" I asked, sounding like Zuko. Toph crossed her arms at me, "I'm taking my five minute break." "You said that ten minutes ago," I said, concentrating on the Air Ball I was forming on the palm of my hand. "Fine, I'll go practice," she said standing up, "but not because you told me to. I'm going to go practice because I want to." She stomped out of the room and into the courtyard, slamming the door behind her. I sighed and concentrated on my Air Ball again. I wanted to get it big enough to sit on, like my past life used to do. I squinted my eyes to get a better look it at. After a while it didn't get any bigger. "This is a waste of time!" I shouted, throwing it on the ground. I started walking off, but something told me to turn around. I turned around and felt my jaw drop. There, in front of me, was a bison made out of air. It had arrows on its head and back. I felt my eyes get watery and I fell to the ground. "Appa?" I said, holding my hand out. Appa flew over to me and landed on my hand. He wasn't very big, but he was still the Sky Bison I knew and loved. I hugged him against my cheek, tears started flowing down my cheeks. Appa let out a little rawer and snuggled his airy head against my cheek. I heard someone run into the room. "Aang?" Katara sat down next to me, "are you ok?" I nodded wiping my tears. Appa jumped out of my hand and ran up Katara's arm. She opened her mouth in surprise. "Aang," she said, looking down at the tiny air Appa, "did you bring Appa back to life?" I laughed and grabbed Appa. He squirmed out of my grasp and flew around our heads. "No," I said, looking up and watching him fly, "I just threw my Air Ball on the ground and here he was." Katara also looked up at him."That's amazing Aang," she said in awe. She then looked over at me, "and I really mean it Aang." I smiled and got up. "I've got to go show everyone," I said. I called Appa down and walked into the hallway, a giant grin placed upon my face.

Chapter 59

Sokka

I heard Aang running down the hall, shouting for everyone to come look at what he got. I sighed, putting my boomerang in my pocket. I got up off of my bed and walked into the doorway. Aang ran up to me, a gigantic grin on his face. "Sokka," he said, holding his hand behind his back, "guess what I got?" "A crazy mind," I said, forming a fist behind me, "how could you be so happy?" Aang's smile disappeared off his face, "Sokka, what are you talking about?" "We only have five days before Toph is supposed to die. FIVE DAYS AANG! It's to close, and here you are being happy!" I yelled at him, my fist tightening. Aang looked like he took a punch to the face, he backed away from me. His eyes were wide and he looked scared. "I-I didn't mean to m-make it look like that S-Sokka," he said, stuttering, "I was j-just happy because I…" "You what!? Think it's funny that my girl friend can DIE?" I yelled, pulling my fist out from behind my back, "why don't you smile again." Aang started shaking and he backed up even farther from me, "S-Sokka, I j-just wanted to show you something. I-I didn't want to m-make you mad or anything." I finally noticed what I was doing. I looked at my fist, then at Aang. I put my hand down and stepped towards Aang. He stepped away from me. "Aang," I said, "I'm sorry. I'm just upset. I don't know what got into me." Aang stopped shaking and looked at me. "I know your upset Sokka, but do you really need to punch me in the face?" I hung my head, "I really am sorry Aang. I don't know what got into me." Aang placed his free hand on my shoulder, "hey, it's ok buddy. I know how you feel, I'm upset too." I still didn't look up at him. Aang took his hand off my shoulder. "Want to see what I got?" He asked, putting his closed hand in my face. I pushed his hand out of my face and smiled, "you're acting like a little kid Aang. You can't just stick your hand in someone's face like that." Aang laughed and held his hand out again. He opened his palm and air flew into my face. I stepped back, "what was that? Some kind of joke?" I swatted at my face, the cold air piercing my skin. "No," Aang said. He then let out a long whistle. The air flew out of my face. I then saw if form into some shape. "Meet Appa," Aang said, holding the air shape. I looked closer at it and saw that it looked like our old Sky Bison friend. "Appa," I said, staring at him in amazement. Appa let out a tiny rawer which could have been frightening if he wasn't s small and cute. I laughed at him, "How did you get him?" Aang explained to me Appa came to him from a ball of air. "That's so cool," I said. Appa jumped on my shoulder and ran across my arm. I smiled at him. "Look at whose smiling now," Aang said, calling Appa. He jumped back to Aang and rested on his shoulder. I wiped the smile off my face, "no one." Aang sighed and looked at me. "Come on Sokka, you can't let your sorrow eat you alive. Everything will be ok." I rolled my eyes at him, "fine. I won't sulk around anymore." Aang smiled, "good." Then he walked off.

Chapter 60

Katara

Aang really can't take a hint. The only reason I came into the room and sat down next to him was so that he would notice me. All he's been concentrating on is his bending and Toph. Sometimes I just want to scream at him! "I'm here too Aang! Can't you tell I still love you!?" I wonder if I should join Azula's side, to prove to Aang that I don't like Toph. I really don't! She took my love away from me. All that comforting is fake; it's only to fit in with everyone else. But I can't turn on Sokka like that. I can't turn on all humanity like that. I'll just suck it up, and deal with it I guess. Like a real warrior.

I was sitting on the couch, by myself. In the main room, by myself, reading a book, by myself. When all of a sudden Toph rushed in from the courtyard. She was out of breath and holding a piece of paper in her hand. "Toph," I said, looking up from my book, "what's that?" "A piece of paper," she said, "that's all I know." "Well, can't I see it so I can read it?" I asked, holding my hand out for the paper. "No," Toph said, pulling it away from me, "I want to try and read it." She held the paper close to her face pretending to read it. "Toph," I said, grabbing the paper from her, "everyone knows that you can't read or write." Toph sighed and sat down on the couch, "what does it say?" I read through the paper and threw it on the ground. "It's just a notice from Azula and friends saying that we now only have five days before we 'meet our doom," I said, rolling my eyes, "does she really think we're going to lose?" Toph pounded her fist with her left hand. "I don't know, but I am going to have so much fun kicking their evil butts," she said, standing up, "I better go practice now." She rushed out of the room and back out of the door, waving to me and smiling. "She has so much confidence," I said to myself, "maybe liking her won't be as hard as I thought. Maybe we can really be friends…"

Water bending practice in the cold air was not my idea on how to spend a Saturday. We only had three more days now until we faced Azula, and we had to spend this time practicing. Even though I almost got everything down, I was still struggling. "Concentrate Katara, concentrate," I told myself. I was trying to make a giant wave big enough to wipe out a whole city, but it was just a little too much for me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I pushed all my will into this wave. I felt light headed and weak, but I kept on pushing myself. "I just need to break through this little pressure wall and then I can do this," I said through clenched teeth. "Katara, stop!" Toph ran over to me and pulled me away from the water. The wave shook and dropped, soaking us both. "What was that for?" I yelled my head felt like it was spinning. I felt like I was going to faint right then and there, I felt so lightheaded. Toph pulled me away from the water. "You know why I stopped you," she said, taking her hat off and wringing it out, "you could have fainted and fallen into the pool. You could have drowned Katara!" I noticed the worry in Toph's blind eyes. 'She really does care,' I thought, wringing my hair out, 'I think we can really be friends.' "I had to get that down Toph," I said, still feeling light on my feet, "I can handle myself." "I know you can Katara, but it's my turn to play the mother. You need to be more careful, and you can't use up all your strength and energy like that! You have to spread out your energy, like this." Toph walked over to the water and pulled it up. She created the giant wave I was trying for, and pushed it to the ground. Water splashed all around us, shoving us to the ground. "See how I didn't almost faint?" Toph asked, stuffing mud in her hand. "Yes, I did," I said, standing up and wiping the mud off of me, "what are you doing?" Toph looked up from her mud sculptor, "I'm making Appa." "You have no idea what Appa looks like," I said, taking a closer look at her mud pile, "and it just looks like a pile of mud." Toph laughed, "I guess you're right on that. I should probably get up." She stood up and Earth Bended the mud off her, splashing it on me. "Show off," I said, shielding my face from the flying mud. She smiled at me, "I try my best."

Chapter 61

Toph

"I will not freak out. I will stay strong. I will not freak out. I will stay strong." No matter how many times I told myself that I still couldn't help by freak out a little bit. We only had two days now and I was still weak on Air Bending. I can't even get the Air Ball/ run wall trick. I always run into the wall or fall off the wall, not fun and very painful. "Concentrate on being the air Toph," Aang would always say from the side. He finally agreed to help me with my Air Bending, but so far all he has done was comment on my fails. "It's not as easy as you make it sound Twinkle Toes," I said, hitting the ground, "I'm a full bleed Earth Bender. I see with Earth Bending. How can I just let that fly away from me?" Aang chuckled at me. "What is so funny?" I asked, giving him an angry glare. "Nice choice of words," he said, "'fly away from me,' Air term, nice, fits this lesson perfectly." "This is so not a lesson," I said, trying to run up the wall again, "you're not even helping me!" Aang chuckled again, "I can't help you run up the wall. That's all on you." I threw my head back and sighed. "Fine," I said, popping my knuckles, "I'll try it your way." I sat down on the ground, my legs crossed. I closed my eyes, an image of a leaf popped in my head. It flowed in the wind, light as a feather. I got up, feeling light on my feet. 'This isn't so bad,' I thought to myself, 'but I can't see without my Earth Bending.' I formed my Air Ball and hopped on top of it. That was easy, as was driving it, now came the hard part. I sensed the wall approaching and jumped off of my Air Ball. I felt my feet make contact with the wall. I ran up the wall as fast as I could, at sometimes my feet didn't even make contact with the wall! I ran up and touched the tips of my fingers to the ceiling. I then dropped to the ground. My feet hit the ground, hard, and all the vibrations. Aang was standing to the right of me know, and the couch was right next to me. "Careful Toph," Aang said, coming over and standing next to me, "you almost fell onto the couch." I reached over and punched his arm, "how am I supposed to know where the couch is, I can't even see my own hands!" Aang laughed at me again, and I rolled my eyes at him. "What?" He asked, putting his hand on my shoulder. His hand was cold on my bare shoulder; maybe I should have put n an actual t-shirt instead of a fat sleeve tank top. I flicked Aang's hand off and shivered, rubbing my bare arms. "Let me guess," Aang said to me, "you're cold." I stuck my tongue out at him."No," I said sarcastically, "I'm burning up like the sun! Of course I'm cold Twinkle Toes, it's the middle of fall and I'm in a tank top." Aang rubbed his hands along my arms from behind me, "here let my help." I felt my hands go hot. (I don't blush anymore; instead my hands go warm, sending out little bits of flames.) I winced as one of the flames touched my arm. I shot out of Aang's arm and started patting down my shirt which had tiny flames singed the edges. "So, you were blushing at that?" Aang asked, chucking again. "No," I said, my hands growing hotter. I hated that people could tell if I was blushing way easier now, I didn't like to blush. "I just decided to practice my Fire Bending, I thought it would warm me up," I said, my hands cooling down. "Looks like it worked," Aang said, "you're shirt is burned." "No," I said, acting surprised, "I thought I was fine." I then left the room because I needed a new shirt.

Chapter 62

Zuko

I sat down next to Mai on the couch. Her head was on my chest. "This is so boring," she said for what felt like the millionth time. "I know," I said, trying to pick out any emotion in her voice. She was acting like her past self; she even wore her hair like her past self. Instead of the high mess pony tail with the red streak, she had her block bangs and tiny buns on each side. She took her red streak out and got rid of all her makeup. "I thought with only two days left this place would have some sort of buzz," She said, she looked up at me, "don't you agree? This place is like a ghost town." I nodded, "I agree. This place feels like the Air Temples after the Fire Nation attacked." "Why are you bringing old history in this conversation Zuko?" Mai asked, she still had no emotion to her voice. I sighed, "I don't know Mai. Guess it just popped out." She closed her eyes and sighed too. "Shouldn't you be practicing?" I jumped at the sound of Azula's voice. She stood at the entrance, her hands on her hips. "I was just taking a break," I said, pushing Mai off of me. "Thanks for that push Zuko," Mai said, sitting up, "I really needed that." "Sorry Mai," I said, leaning down and giving her a kiss on the cheek, "I need to practice now." Mai sighed as I left the room. "She has a lot of emotions," Azula said, leading me into the practice part of the cave. "She just has trouble expressing herself," I said, following her. Even though I lived here for almost two weeks I still didn't know my way around his maze of a cave. Azula rolled her eyes and turned around and looked at me. "Oh Zuzu," she said, tilting her head in a mocking way at me, "Mai is just a little gothic girl. It's better to leave that Ninja Star throwing girl to be who she is. Mai knows how to express herself, she just doesn't want to." It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Just get me to the practice area," I said. "Fine," Azula said, rounding another corner. We arrived in a big open area. There were scorch marks all over the sides of the cave. Ty Lee was already in there, practicing her gymnastics or whatever she does. She looked over at me and Azula as we entered the room. A smile spread across her face. "Are you guys here to help my practice? I really need to see if my Chi Blocking is working," she said, doing a back flip and landing next to us. She flung her arm out at me, trying to hit my pressure point. I backed away from her before she could touch me. "No," I said sternly, "I'm just here to practice my bending." Ty Lee closed her eyes, her smile still painted on her face. "Sorrow," she said, holding her hands together, "probably should have waited before trying to Chi Block you." "Zuzu," Azula said, pointing her fingers at me, "does this look scary and hurtful?" She shot lightening at me. I jumped out of the way before it could hit me. I rolled to the ground right as the lightening hit the wall, leaving a big mark. "Yes," I said, gasping for breath. Getting lightening shot at you can take your breath away, "it was frightening and looked hurtful!" Azula smiled, "good. I needed to know so I know what to throw at the Avatar." I sighed and put the palm f my hand on my head. "Azula," I said, sighing, "How many times do we have to go over this? The Avatar is blind. She won't be able to see the lightening." Azula gave me her pouty face, "well that takes the fun out of it!" I rolled my eyes again and turned around so that my back faced her. I picked a target on the wall and shot fire at it. It hit the wall, hard, and dust flew everywhere. I waved it away, coughing, and looked at the place where the fire hit. There was big dent in the wall, burn marks were around its edges. I smiled at my work and turned around to face Azula, my face serious again. "Can I just forget practice today? I already mastered this element," I said, pointing my hand at the dent in the wall. "No," Azula said, sounding angry at me, "you must keep practicing. I don't care if you mastered the element already. You must practice, unless you will fail." "Azula, you are such a drama queen!" I shouted at her. Azula can be quite annoying at sometime, and sometimes I just want to punch her right in her face! "I'll be fine if I skip one day of practice," I said, flames burning on the palm of my hand. Azula sighed and looked at my hand. "I'm just playing safe Zuzu," she said, pushing my hand away from her, "I just don't want to lose to them. I would never forgive you, ever, if we lose. So practice!" She stomped out of the room, leaving my and Ty Lee alone. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the cave," Ty Lee said, smiling up at me, "am I right?" I nodded lightly then walked to the other side of the room, leaving her alone, laughing at herself.

Chapter 63

Aang

"Run Twinkle Toes! Run," Toph grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hall. I looked behind me and saw the ceiling falling to the ground. "What did you do?!" I yelled over the sound of the ceiling crashing to the ground. Toph didn't hear me, she just kept running. We turned the corner and collided into Sokka. We all fell to the ground, hard. Toph hopped up a second later and grabbed both f our hands. She dragged us up and started running again. I heard an even bigger crash and saw that the whole hallway was a complete mess. "What happened here?" Sokka yelled over to me. I shrugged my shoulders as best as I could (It's kind of hard to shrug your shoulders especially when you are being dragged for your life) and pointed over at Toph with my free hand. Sokka looked over at Toph and sighed. He then looked back over at me. He let go of Toph's hand and ran ahead of us. Toph looked over at him, then turned around to look at me. "What's he doing?" she asked, also yelling. "I don't know," I yelled back, also letting go of her hand. I ran a little ahead of her, and then heard another crash. I turned around and saw Toph on the ground, holding her knee. The wall was about to crush her, yet she wouldn't move. "Toph!" I yelled, running towards her. I pulled her up, but she fell back to the floor again. "Aang, I can't stand on my leg!" She said, a big bruise was already on her knee, "just go!" I didn't leave her, instead I quickly scooped her up in my arms and ran as fast as I could. Toph wrapped her arms around my neck to steady herself. "What happened here?" I asked again, turning the corner. "I was practicing, when all of a sudden the ceiling fell!" I kept on running, trying to think of what could have made the ceiling fall. "What element were you practicing?" I asked, running even faster. "Air," she yelled, "I needed to work on that even more. Wait, Aang. Put me down now!" I stopped, "why Toph? You'll be crushed by the ceiling!" "Just do it!" I put Toph down on her feet, expecting her to fall. She surprised me when she was able to stay up. "Get behind me!" She yelled, holding her hands up to the ceiling. I ran behind her, and watched her push the ceiling up with her Earth Bending. "Aang, make a protective Ari bubble around us," she said, still facing the crashing walls and ceiling. I did as I was told, and just in time too. A giant piece of the ceiling fell down, hitting the Air bubble. Toph pushed the ceiling up and pushed the walls back on their place. The ceiling stopped falling, and all of its pieces went back to its place. Soon the hallway looked like nothing ever happened. Toph turned around and smiled at me. "We make a good team Twinkle Toes, you know that?" I nodded, dropping our protective bubble. Toph crossed her arms at me, "yes or no, Twinkle Toes." I smiled, "we do. Good work Ms. Avatar." Toph's smile got bigger. "That's right; I am the Avatar, master of all four elements. I almost forgot," she said, hitting her head with her palm, "duh." I laughed at her, and she punched me in the arm. "I deserved that,' I said, rubbing my arm and still smiling. I heard someone rushing towards us and turned around. Katara and Sokka were running towards us. They stopped as they reached us. Sokka looked around, a surprised look on his face. "What happened here? The ceiling, and the walls, and CRASH," Sokka said, moving his hands around frankly, lost for words. "Sokka, why did you drag me down here? I thought this was something important," Katara said, crossing her arms over her chest. "There was something here," Sokka said, still waving his arms, "the ceiling was falling!" Katara rolled her eyes at him and looked over to me, "is he telling the truth?" She asked, pointing at Sokka. Toph answered for me. "The ceiling was falling," she said, "but Aang and I repaired it before anyone got hurt." "Hey, I wanted to help!" Sokka cried, his arms slumped by his side now. "Sorry Snoozles, but if we didn't act then, then we would have no more house to live in," Toph said, crossing her arms too. "But I wanted to help save the house!" Sokka said, whimpering. I noticed that after the last six months that we all started acting more and more like our old self. Katara was acting more motherly and caring, Toph was acting more sarcastic, I was becoming more of a vegetarian, Smellerbee was acting more boyish, Longshot was wearing his short hair in a warrior's ponytail, Jet was being more sneaky and chewing on his wheat more and more often, and Sokka was, well, Sokka. (There is no easy way to explain Sokka, he's just, well, Sokka.) "Earth to Twinkle Toes, hello!" I snapped out of my thoughts and saw Toph waving her hand in front of my face. "What?" I asked, pushing her hand away. "I said, 'don't you agree that if we waited for Sokka to come back that we would have no house?'" Toph said, "Looking" at me. "Um, yeah," I said, still not exactly out of my memories. "I told you Snoozles!" Toph said, punching Sokka in the arms, "don't underestimate the Blind Bandit!" "I didn't underestimate you; I just said that you guys could have waited for us! We only arrived a couple minutes after you fixed it," Sokka said, throwing his arms in the air. "Let's go Sokka," Katara said, grabbing her brother's hand and dragging him down the hall. "This isn't over," Sokka called down to us, then smiling, "see you later tonight!" Toph then looked over at me. "He's some crazy teenager," she said, holding back a laugh. "Yeah," I said smiling myself, "but you have to admit, we're all a little crazy sometimes." Toph punched me on my arm again. "What was that one for?" I asked, rubbing my now bruised arm. "Don't you remember Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked, smiling at me, "that's how I show affection."

Chapter 64

Sokka

Katara dragged me by my arm down the hall. "Where are we going?" I asked, trying to pull free of her deadly grasp. She pulled me around the corner and stopped. She looked around us, making sure no one was around. "You know she likes him, right Sokka? I mean, it's kind of obvious," Katara said, so quietly that I had to lean in closer to hear her. "They're just good friends," I said, scratching the back of my head. I don't know who I was trying to convince, her, or myself. Katara was right; Toph had been hanging around Aang more and more each day. I just thought it was for Air Bending, but then I noticed that he was there when she was practicing the other four elements. Maybe Toph did like Aang more than me… I pushed that thought to the back of mind. 'I deal with it later,' I thought, turning back to Katara. "They're just good friends, that's all," I said again. "Fine," Katara said, throwing her hands up in defeat, "but don't come crying to me when she breaks your heart!" With that, she threw her long, dark brown hair over her shoulder and left me standing there, alone. I sighed and walked down to the main room. Smellerbee and Longshot were in there too. Smellerbee was talking about a knife collection that she wanted, and Longshot sat there, listening to Smellerbee go on and on and on. I walked out of the room, leaving them alone, knowing that I was probably unwanted company. I walked down to my room and laid on my bed, thinking to myself. 'I wonder if Suki found her way over here. If so, I hope she still likes me, because if she does, Aang can have Toph. Maybe I am just dating Toph to replace Suki…. I mean, that's what Toph told Aang, saying that she's just a phase and I just miss Suki. No, that can't be true; I don't go through phases of girls. But then again, I do miss Suki more than anything… Then again, I also miss Yue, but I see her every night. Sometimes I even talk to her, telling her about my life so far, and what I hope to accomplish, but I don't do that all the time like I used too. Talking to the moon is just a little weird, but I know she's listening at least. At least, I think she is. I know she's the moon spirit and all, but could she cross over to this life? She is a spirit, so I think she could. Why is my love life so complicated!? All I wanted was someone to marry, and now I have three girls I am fighting over. Ok, more like two, because I don't think I can date the moon. I wonder if I ever do find Suki, that I'll love her again… or did I ever stop loving her in the first place?"

Chapter 65

Katara

"Katara! We only have one more day until we fight, and you're telling me that you're sick!?" Toph yelled at me, looking like she wanted to Earth Bend my head off. I sat up and coughed, my throat killing me. "Yes," I said, my voice sounding raspy. I coughed again and lay down, my head started throbbing then. "Well then heal yourself!" Toph said, "I thought you were the best healer ever!" I felt like hitting myself on my head. She was right, if I could bring someone to life (which I had to do in my past life) then I could get rid of a lousy cold. I got up, stumbled a little, and then walked into the bathroom. I turned on the sink and filled it all the way up. I took a deep breath then dunked my head in the sink. I opened my mouth and let the water go down to my throat, healing. I pulled myself up, coughing. Not because I was still sick, it was because I swallowed way to much water. I pushed my wet hair out of my face and started breathing heavily. The water was so cold, why didn't I warm it up before I dunked my whole head in it? "I could have helped you Katara," Toph said from the doorway. "I needed to do it myself," I said, lying. I felt like an idiot, why didn't I let her help before almost drowning myself? Toph laughed. "I know you're lying Katara," she said, a giant smile on her face, "and now I bet you feel stupid." "I do not!" I yelled at her, standing up. "Liar," Toph said, laughing, "Katara, you are a bad liar!" I pushed her out of the way and stomped down the hall. "Hey, keep it down!" Toph yelled down the hall, "you're vibrations are hurting my feet!" I felt like pulling my hair out then, I was too stressed. This whole fight thing was driving me nuts. I thought the world was supposed to be in peace! Was I wrong? Did Aang fail at bringing the world to peace? Or am I just thinking to hard!? I pushed those thoughts in the back of my mind, and went to go change into some dry clothes.

Chapter 66

Toph

I jumped out of bed, already fully dressed. I ran down the hall, and stomped my foot hard on the ground. A shockwave went into every room, waking everyone up. I didn't wait to make sure everyone was up and dressed, or even if they were following me, I just ran. I stopped outside, the cold air stinging my face. I felt Aang behind me, and then came the rest. "Who's driving?" Sokka asked, standing by my side. "I am," I said, heading towards Zuko's car. I felt a hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. "I'll think we'll pass on that offer," Aang said, pulling me away from the car that was about an inch away from my hand, "we'll let Jet drive instead." I sighed and stepped even farther away from the car. I felt Jet step up, open the car door, and get in. I pulled the keys out of my pocket and handed them to him, my head to the ground. My hair fell over my face and into my eyes. Katara came up to me, "do you want me to pull your hair back Toph? We don't want it to get into your face." I shook my head. "I'll do it myself, I'm not that helpless," I said, holding my hand back. Katara handed me a hair band, and I pulled my hair back into a tight ponytail. I then pulled on my hat that I always wore, and hopped into the backseat of the car. Aang sat next to me, and everyone else piled up in the car. "Where are we going exactly?" Jet asked from the front seat. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "I don't know the way to go, but I do know that we are going to Fiery Cave," I said, pulling myself up on the back of the front seat. "That's helpful," Jet grumbled, "does anyone know the directions?" No one spoke up. "Fine, I'll just pray to the Spirits that we'll make it there on time," he said. I sighed and laid my head back against my seat. "Toph, don't tell me your tired," Sokka complained from in front of me. "I'm not," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, "it's just that I'm a little concerned. The whole world rests on our shoulders, and if we fail… let's just hope that we don't fail." Five minutes passed, then ten, then half an hour. "Are we there yet?!" I asked Jet, feeling anxious. I couldn't see in this hunk of metal, and I really wanted to kick some evil butt now. "I don't know," Jet complained, "I have no idea where were going!" It was cramp in the backseat with five of us squished in it. My cheek was pushed against the cold window. Aang must have been feeling the same way as me, because he started squirming. "Take a left here," Sokka said. I guess he must have had a map because I heard paper crumbling. "How did you get that map?" I asked, leaning over his shoulder. "I bought it a while ago. You must've fallen asleep," he said, "believe it or not; it has the Fiery Cave labeled on it!" I felt hope rise in my chest. We were actually going to make it! We were actually going to have a chance to beat Azula! "How much farther do we have?" Smellerbee asked. She sounded as if she was against the other door, being squished against the window. "About another half an hour," Sokka said, then to Jet, "take another left here." I wanted to punch the roof of the car off because I was so happy. Then I felt worried. 'What if we don't make it? What if we fail? What if I can't make it into the Avatar State?' I didn't tell anyone yet, but I didn't think I could make it into the Avatar State so easy, like I said I could. I needed to concentrate on it, like I have for the past six months. But no matter no hard I concentrated, I couldn't get into it! I've tried everything: clearing my mind, forgetting everything, being quite, practicing outside under the full moon, praying to the Spirits; you name it, I've tried it. Aang nudged me with his elbow, breaking me out f my thoughts. "Toph," he said, opening the door, "we're here." I felt my eyes go wide. How long was I thinking? Aang helped me out of the car, and I fell to the ground. "My stupid leg is asleep," I said, hitting my left leg. "Well wake it up! We have to get in there as soon as we can," Sokka said. "I'm trying!" I said, hitting my leg even harder. That woke it up. I stood up, brushed myself off, and turned around. "Let's go," I said, taking a step forward. As soon as my foot hit the ground, I turned around. "We need to go this way," I said, learning that I was going the wrong way. Someone grabbed onto my hand. "Thought you might need a Seeing Eye person for now," Aang said, squeezing my hand. I didn't want to helped, but I knew it was for the best. Whatever was in there may be able to get off the ground, and I wouldn't be able to see it. Aang led me into the cave with everyone else. I felt the temperature rise to at least ninety degrease. "Now I know why they call it the Fiery Cave," I said, wiping the sweat off my forehead. "We need to continue on," Sokka said, walking ahead, "we need to find the heart of the cave. I think we'll find Azula there." I nodded and Aang led me farther into the cave. The farther we walked, the hotter it got. "If it gets any hotter in here I think I might melt," Katara complained from behind me. "Suck it up Sugar Queen," I said, even though I totally agreed. It must have been at least one hundred degrease in here. Yet we kept on walking. We walked for about ten minutes before Aang pulled me back. I stumbled and fell into him, knocking us both to the ground. "Aang," I said, picking myself up, "what was that for?" Sokka was the one to reply. "We reached the center of the cave," he said, "you almost fell into what's making this cave so hot." "What is it?" I asked, walking towards the place where Aang pulled me back. I felt my foot slip, causing me to trip. "Toph!" Aang said, running towards me. I felt something hot on my face, getting closer. Aang grabbed my hand and pulled me back. "You almost fell into the fire," he said. He must have seen the questioning look on my face. "How about you stay close to me Toph," Aang said, taking my hand again, "before you actually do fall into the fire." I nodded and let him lead me again. "We all have to stay close here," Sokka said, "unless we all want to fall and die." "Sounds like a picnic," I said under my breath, following Aang. We pressed our backs against the wall of the cave and started sliding again the ledge. It felt like a small ledge, and it was very hot. I winced as my barefoot hit a hot rock. "Ouch," I said, picking up my foot, "this place is going to burn my feet to bits." "You should have worn shoes then," Jet said, "or at least ones with soles at the bottom." "If I did wear actual shoes then I would've been as blind as a bat," I snapped back at him.

We jumped off the ledge, landing on cooler ground. I sighed a sigh of relief, noticing that my feet weren't burning anymore. The ground felt more soiled here, so I let go of Aang's hand. "I'll lead the way now," I said. I stomped my foot on the ground so I could feel the vibrations all over the cave. I pointed to the left, "there's movement over there." I walked that way and put my hand against the wall. I opened an Earth door and walked through. As soon as I got in I stopped. The movements I felt were closer, and faster. "Toph, what is it?" Katara asked from behind me. I felt my heart beat speeding up as the vibrations got closer. "I think we have some company," I said, turning back around to my friends.

Chapter 67

Zuko

"Looks like we have some visitors here," Azula said, turning a corner. As soon as we turned we ran into our visitors. There stood my old friends. Jet, Smellerbee and Longshot were the closest to us. Jet took out his hook swords, Smellerbee her daggers, and Longshot loaded his bow and arrow. Katara, Sokka and Aang were the next to turn around. Sokka took out his boomerang, Katara opened her water pouch and brought out a water whip, and Aang formed an Air Ball, pointing it right at us. The last face us was Toph. She turned around slowly. In one hand she held a Fire Ball, in the other, a giant boulder. I looked around at the four of us thinking, 'how could we possibly take on seven of them?' Mai already had her Ninja Stars out, Ty Lee had her fists up, and Azula already had lightening at her finger tips. I faced Team Avatar again, forming a Fire Whip at my hand. "Looks like it's time for the show down that was meant to be," Azula said, a smile spreading across her face. "Just give up now Azula," Toph said calmly, "we don't have to fight you. All you have to is give up." Azula let out a long laugh, then turned her attention back to Toph. "Me, give up? If anyone should give up it should be you," Azula said, firing lighting at Toph. Katara shot water at the lightening and put it out before it reached Toph. "Well then," Toph said, throwing her boulder holding arm back, "looks like this is war!" She shot the boulder at Azula and the rest of us, forcing us to jump out of the way. Mai shot her Ninja stars at Sokka, who jumped out of the way and reflected them with his boomerang. They flew back, almost hitting Mai. On did snag her sleeve and pulled her back to the wall, trapping her. I went over to go help her, barley avoiding a Fire Ball to the head. I kneeled down next to Mai, trying to unconnected the Ninja Star from the rock wall. "There's no time Zuko," Mai said, pushing me away, "I'll get myself out. You need to go fight." I stood up and looked back down at Mai before heading off towards the direction of the fight.

We all split up by now. The nonbenders went to one side of the cave, and the benders went farther into the cave. I ran into the entrance to the biggest open part of the cave and saw Azula fighting Toph, Katara, and Aang all at once. I jumped by her side and shot a fire ball at Aang, hitting him square in the stomach. He fell to the ground clutching his stomach. He then Air Bended himself upright again and threw an Air Punch at me. I avoided it, and threw another fireball at Katara. She put it out with her water whip. "You guys need to go fight Zuko else ware," Toph said, avoiding a blue fireball from Azula, "this is where me and Azula fight." Katara and Aang nodded. I looked over at Azula, waiting to see if she wanted me to leave. "Go Zuzu," she said, throwing a fireball at Toph, who jumped over at the last second, "I can deal with the Avatar here." I nodded and left the room. Now it was two against one. "Zuko, why did you join their side?" Katara asked me, putting the water back in her pouch. She approached me without fear, and that made me mad. "I joined because I wanted to," I said, throwing my arm back, "I wanted the power!" I threw the fireball at her. It hit her in her foot, sending her falling to the ground, clutching her foot. "Zuko," she cried, looking at me, "you did have power. You were our leader!" I ignored her and her tears and turned to Aang. "You're next," I said, throwing a fireball at him. "Katara," he said, avoiding it, "heal yourself!" I turned around and saw Katara already healing herself with Water Bending. I didn't have time to worry about her. I jumped out of the way of an Air Tornado and sent another fireball at Aang. This was going to be a long fight…

Chapter 68

Longshot

Trying to Chi Block nonbenders? What was this Ty Lee girl thinking? I hopped out of the way of her fist, and shot an arrow at her, hoping to get her pinned against the wall by her shirt sleeve. Somehow she avoided it by doing a flip out of the way. She laughed and smiled as if this were all a game to her. "You guys are fun to fight with," she said, flipping out of the way of Smellerbee's punch. She laughed again and turned towards Sokka. "Oh," she said, surprise filling her face, "you're that cute Water Tribe boy from my past life! You look almost exactly the same!" She ran over to him, trying to hit his arm. "Don't let her hit you," he yelled, jumping out of her way, "she'll give you noodle arms or legs. It's supposed to block you Chi, or bending, but since we're nonbenders it will relax our limbs to much!" Ty Lee hit his arm while he was explaining that to us, and sure enough, his arm moved like a noodle. It would have been funny if we weren't fighting for our lives and the whole world. I shot two arrows at Ty Lee, one of them missing completely, and the other ripping the sleeve of her pink top. She looked down at her arm. "Hey," she said, her smile shrinking, "this was my favorite shirt!" She threw a punch at me, almost hitting me. "Longshot!" Smellerbee lunged at Ty Lee, knocking her to the ground before her punch could reach my arm. The two girls tumbled to the ground. Smellerbee blocked off Ty Lee's punches and kicks and took out one of her daggers. While Ty Lee wasn't paying attention, she pierced it through her shirt shoulder, and then the other. Smellerbee stood up and smiled. She then tipped her imaginary hat and said, "Good day my fellow trapped girl." Ty Lee tried to stand, but her arms were stuck in the ground. "Hey," she cried, "get me out of this trap!" We all turned our backs on her, about to leave her when she said something that stopped Sokka. "I know where Suki is!" She cried. Sokka spun around and faced her, or basically looked down at her because she was pinned to the ground, not the wall. "Liar," he said his voice barley over a whisper. "I'm not lying," Ty Lee said, her face telling us that she was serious, "she's here Sokka. I'll bring you to her if you let me go." Sokka looked over at all of us. Jet shook his head, Smellerbee frowned, but I knew I needed to say something. Something needed to be said to Sokka, and I was the one who had to do it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Sokka," I said, surprised by the sound of my own voice. Jet and Smellerbee looked at me with so much shock that you'd think that I just killed a person. Sokka looked at me, waiting for me to go on. "Sokka," I repeated myself, "we'll let her go. But we'll hold her, one person for each arm and two behind. We'll have her lead us to Suki, then we'll let her go." Sokka nodded, so did Jet. Smellerbee, well, she looked at me, surprise and respect filled her eyes. She nodded after a while, and helped Ty Lee up. Then we went to go find Suki, another person to add to our team… hopefully.

Chapter 69

Aang

I heard an explosion from the end of the cave where Azula and Toph were fighting. I looked over at Katara, a worried expression on my face. She shook her head at me, and turned back to the fight with Zuko. I felt the hope I had drop down t barely any. I heard another explosion and rocks crashing to the ground. I looked back over at Katara who was using her Water Whip. "Katara," I yelled to her, turning in the direction of the explosions, "I'm going to go help Toph." Katara looked over at me, worry in her eyes. "No Aang," she said, "Toph said that this is her fight. She needs to fight Azula alone. If you want to help anyone, then either help me, or Sokka." I looked over at her, studying her fighting. She looked strong enough to fight Zuko alone and maybe Sokka and the others did need my help. "I'll go find Sokka," I said, turning around, "good luck!" I didn't wait to see if Katara answered me or not, I just kept running. I rounded the corner and saw Sokka and Jet holding onto Ty Lee. Smellerbee and Longshot walked behind her, making sure she didn't escape. "Aang," Sokka said, looking over at me, "we're going to go find Suki!" His smiled at me, tightening his grip on Ty Lee. She winced, but still smiled. "Suki, the Kyoshi Warrior?" I asked, walking next to him. "Yes," he said dreamily, "my Suki." I waved my hand in front of Sokka's eyes. "Hello," I said, "what about Toph? Don't you remember that you're still dating her?" Sokka looked at me and then turned his head away. "I don't think she likes me anymore," he said, softly, "I think she may like you more." I felt my heart skip a beat. 'Could my plan really have worked? Did Toph really like me more than Sokka?' I kept those thoughts to myself. I shook my head. "No," I said, trying to cheer Sokka up, "I think she likes you more." "Then why does she always hang out with you?" He asked. "I think I have a better chance with Suki. You can have Toph… if you want." "You need to tell her yourself Sokka," I said, "You need to tell her that you're in love with Suki and not her. You can't just give her away like that!" Sokka nodded then turned to Ty Lee. "Where do we go next?" He asked, squeezing her arm. "Turn here," she said, wincing and smiling, "we're almost there." We turned the corner and saw a steel door. "I need to unlock it," Ty Lee said, "so I need you to let go of me." Sokka nodded and let go of her, but stayed close. Ty Lee grabbed a key from her back pocket and opened the door. "Leave me alone," a voice said from the dark, "I don't want you to taunt me anymore!" "You have victors," Ty Lee said cheerily, leading us into the room. We walked in and saw a dark figure sitting in the corner. "I said, leave me alone!" The figure said, not turning around to face us. The figure was a female with reddish hair that was down to her shoulders. Sokka stepped up to her, "Suki?" The female turned around, showing us her purple eyes. "Sokka, is that you?" She asked, standing up. "Suki," Sokka threw his arms around Suki and pulled her in for a hug. "Oh Sokka, I'd thought I'd never see you again," she said, tears running down her cheeks. "Guys," Jet said, looking towards the door, "I think we better get out of here, now!" The door was closing, and we were about to be locked in! We ran towards the door. Smellerbee slipped one of her daggers between the wall and door, making it not close all the way. "Good thinking Smellerbee," Jet said, "we'd better stay in here a while so that we can sneak attack." Everyone nodded, agreeing that it was a good idea. We all sat down and waited for a while.

Chapter 70

Katara

I heard running footsteps behind me, coming closer. I turned around and saw Sokka and the others running towards us. They were missing someone. "Where's Jet?" I asked, looking over at them. "He's fighting one on one with Ty Lee," Sokka said, rushing towards my side. "Why aren't you helping him?" I asked, dodging yet another fireball. I turned to Zuko. "Is that all you got fire boy?!" I yelled at him, taunting him. It's easier to defeat people when they're mad because all they think about is hurting you, not protecting themselves. It worked because Zuko threw another fireball at me, and I threw my water whip at him. He hit the ground, water splashing all over him. I quickly froze the water and trapped him. "Look whose winning now!" I said, standing over him. He growled at me, and tried to stand, but the ice held him tight. "You're not going to stand up anytime soon Zuko," I said, crossing my arms, "you're our prisoner now." That made Zuko even madder. He melted the ice with his Fire Bending at stood up, smiling. "Well well," he said, cracking his knuckles, "look at who stood up." I backed away from him, wishing that I hadn't used my last bit of water on him. All I had left was my Spirit water, and I didn't intend to use it on him, I was only to use it for special reasons. His smile faded as he threw his hand back. "Katara," he said, "look out!" He threw a fireball at me, and I ducked out of the way. I was about to yell my head off at him when I heard someone fall behind me. I spun around and saw Ty Lee on the ground clutching her arm. I turned and looked at Zuko, a surprised look on my face. "Zuko," Ty Lee shouted at him, "why did you shoot me? I thought we were on the same side!" Zuko looked down at his hands, the look on his face questioning if they were even his. He then looked back up at Ty Lee, then at me, then back at her. "I changed my mind," he said, straitening himself up, "I'm with the Avatar." Ty Lee looked at all of us then hung her head. "I would change sides to," she said, her voice shaking, "but you wouldn't accept me, epically after what I did." We all looked over at her, trying to figure out what she meant by that. "What did you do?" Aang asked, sounding curious. Tears rolled down Ty Lee's cheeks. "I blocked that Jet kid's memory. He doesn't know about his past life anymore, and he never will again," she said, crying now. We were all silent; the only sound was Ty Lee crying. "You mean," Smellerbee began, tears filling her eyes, "Jet's gone?" Ty Lee nodded. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't mean to. I was just doing what Azula told me too. I wouldn't have done it if she didn't tell me-" Ty Lee broke out into sobs, and was not able to finish her sentence. I leaned down next to her. "It's ok Ty Lee," I whispered trying to calm her down, "no one's mad at you." "I'm mad," Smellerbee shouted. She griped the end of her dagger. "Jet was our leader," she said, pulling her dagger out of her pocket, "now you'll pay!" She ran at Ty Lee, but Longshot stopped her by grabbing the collar of her shirt. "I'm sorry," Ty L said again."Where is Jet by the way?" I asked, looking around. "I led him outside, he's probably far away by now," Ty Lee said. Smellerbee hung her head. "I hate this. Why do we keep on losing Jet?" She looked at Longshot who shrugged his shoulders. "So, can I join you guys now?" Ty Lee asked, looking over at Smellerbee. Smellerbee stared at her then slowly nodded. "Fine," she said, "it will give me so many opportunities to get back at you." Ty Lee hopped up of the ground, a wide grin on her face.

Chapter 71

Ty Lee

I smiled at all my new friends, feeling grateful that everyone forgave me. Or at least, almost everyone forgave me. Smellerbee shot me and evil look and Longshot's eyes said it all. They didn't like me. I took away their leader. They would never forgive me. My thoughts were interrupted by footsteps walking towards us. Mai stood in front of us, her arms crossed across her chest. Her face showed no emotion, but her gray eyes had a little glint in them. "Looks like we're all changing sides again," she said, looking at Zuko. He nodded and turned to the rest of us. "This is the team I belong to," he said, "it's like my family." Mai went over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "The count me as one of your family members," she said, dropping her Ninja Stars on the ground, "because I surrender." "You're going to need those Mai," I said, pointing my toes at her Ninja Stars, "if Azula sees those, she might get suspicious." "Yes," Sokka said, smiling with his arm around Suki's shoulders, "we have the original Team Avatar, Fire, Air, Water, Earth, sword and fan!" "Sword and fan?" I asked, looking around. "We'll find a sword and my fan soon," Suki said smiling, or maybe I just happen to have it now." She pulled a fan out from behind her back. "I was planning to use it to escape," Suki said, opening the fan up, "but I think I'd rather use it against Azula." Sokka shook his head at her and pointed to the hall that lead to where Azula and Toph were fighting. "Toph said not to help her, at all," he said, looking at Aang, "right Aang?" "Yes," Aang said, nodding, "Toph told us that this was her fight. She intends to fight without her help. She also said to stay away…" Aang was cut off from a giant explosion. "Except when there is giant explosion," Aang said, running towards where Azula and Toph where. We heard an evil/crazy laugh from their direction. We arrived to where they were fighting. Toph lay on the ground, limp and weak. Azula stood over her laughing like a mad person. She looked over at us, her smile growing even bigger. "You came to watch," she said, laughing again, "the Avatar die!"

Chapter 72

Azula

Before I start my part of this tale, let me introduce myself. My name is Azula; it used to be Mary Kneeler before I got my memory. How did I get my memory back? Let's just say it came to me in a dream one night… Zuzu was right. I do look enough like him to pass as his sister. We are related actually. Cousins actually, but we barley saw each other. I have the black hair and golden eyes like Zuko. (He calls his eye color amber! They are really golden. I swear that boy is colorblind!) Time to get back to the tale.

Let's go back in time, about three hours earlier to be exact. That Avatar and her friends just arrived, and the fighting began. I cornered the Avatar in a room with her two bending friends. Zuko was on my side (or he was then, that traitor…) and we were winning against these three. Then all of a sudden the Avatar wanted to face me, ALONE! Ha! Does she really think that she could win against me one on one? She must be going crazy! No one can defeat me, and I mean no one. So Zuko and the other two left, leaving us alone, one on one. Exciting, don't you agree? I waited for her to make the first move, but she stood completely still, her eyes blank as a clean slate. "Aren't you going to send an attack at me?" I was growing impatient with all this waiting. "You can go first," she said, her eyes still blank. I couldn't take the waiting anymore. I threw a blue fireball towards the girl in front of me. Right before it hit her it disappeared, leaving her unharmed. She didn't even move a muscle! I then felt the ground shaking underneath me. Before I could move the Earth attached itself to my ankle, holding on tight. I tried to move, but I was trapped. I pulled on my leg, but nothing happened. I looked up to see an Air Ball flying towards me. I ducked out of the way at the least minute, feeling the air pass over my head. It knocked my hair out of my bun, causing it to fall onto my face. I pulled on my leg again, it was coming loose, but it was still stuck. I saw a fireball coming right at me, and I deflected it with one of my fireballs. I pulled on my leg again. 'Finally,' I thought to myself as I freed my leg. I threw a fireball, but the Avatar changed its course and sent it up to the ceiling, causing an explosion. Rocks fell from the ceiling, falling onto us. The Avatar covered her head with her hands so that the rocks wouldn't hurt her as much. One of the rocks knocked out her ponytail and her hair to fell around her face. She looked tired and weak. She swayed to the side a little, delivering her next attack. I jumped out of the way of the Earth Shockwave that she sent, causing another explosion. The Avatar looked off guard, wondering how I was not on the floor. I took this as my chance, throwing a fireball at the blind enemy. It hit her square in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. Then everyone else came in. I smiled at all of them and laughed. "You've come to watch the Avatar die!"

Chapter 73

Sokka

"No," I said, trying to run towards Toph. Something was holding me back, making me unable to move. I watched in horror as Azula started to bend lighting out of thin air, then point it towards Toph. I tried to scream, but my voice was stuck n my throat. "Azula," Mai shouted, "leave her alone!" Azula turned to face us, looking for Mai. She finally spotted her next to Zuko. She smiled. "Mai, Mai, Mai," she said, shaking her head, "why did you leave my side? Can't you tell I'm about to win?" Mai took a step towards Azula, grabbing her Ninja Stars. Azula laughed again. "If any of you guys try to hurt me then I will kill the Avatar now," Azula said, pointing the lightening back at Toph. Toph raised her head, her dead eyes looking in the direction of Azula. She must have felt my vibrations because she looked in my direction. She held a finger up to her lips and looked back at Azula. She then bended a rock behind her and shot it at Azula. It hit her, making her stumble to the side. She then turned to face Toph, her expression a mixture of anger and craziness. "How dare you hit me?" She screeched, throwing her hand back, "prepare to meet your doom!" Azula shot lightening at Toph. "No," Aang screamed running forward. He was too late. The lightening hit Toph on her chest, knocking her to the ground. She twitched, then lay still, not moving a muscle. Azula laughed again. "I win," she called to all of us, "I killed the Avatar! You all lose! I win!" Zuko shot fire at Azula knocking her to the ground. Ty Lee then cart wheeled over to her, hitting her pressure points. Azula tried to bend at her, but she couldn't. "Ty Lee," she seethed, "how are you block my bending!" Mai then ran over to her with Smellerbee at her side. Mai stuck Azula up to the wall with her Ninja Stars, and Smellerbee helped by adding her daggers. Azula was stuck and captured, but Toph was still not moving. We all ran to her side. Her eyes were closed, and there was no sign of her breathing. Aang shook her. "Toph," he said, tears filling his eyes, "Toph, wake up!" She didn't move. He black hair, now out of the pony tail from too much fighting, fell in front of her eyes. Her skin was paler than ever, it was almost white. She had a large cut on her arm, and three smaller ones on her cheek. I touched her arm, her skin was ice cold. Katara whipped out her spirit water, holding it above the big gnash on Toph's chest. "This isn't good," she said, staring at Toph's wound. "What do you mean by, 'this is not good?'" Aang asked, looking down at Toph. "We may have taken too long to get to her," Katara said, her brow furrowed with concentration. "Can you still heal her?" Suki asked, also looking down at Toph. "I think I may be able to help her heart beat again," Katara said, "but I don't know how long it will take to wake her up." "You mean," I said, feeling a lump in my throat, "t-that she has no heart beat?" Katara didn't look at me. "Right now Toph is considered dead," she said, "but my spirit water should hopefully bring her back."

Chapter 74

Aang

I felt the tears roll down my cheeks. I didn't care. Nothing mattered to me anymore. My best friend, my crush, my maybe soon to be girl friend was dead. We had no idea if Katara could bring her back. I closed my eyes and hung my head, crying. I sat there while Katara tried to relieve her with her Spirit water. I took Toph's ice cold hand in mine and prayed to the spirits asking them to bring her back. I closed my eyes again, squeezing Toph's hand. All of a sudden I felt something move by me. I opened my eyes to see Toph's eyes open a little. She looked over in my direction and smiled. "Aang," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper, "I love you." With that, Toph closed her eyes again, but this time she was breathing.

I carried Toph out of the cave. Her eyes were still closed, and her wound was gigantic. Every time her wound rubbed against my stomachs eh would flinch. We all loaded into the car (which was even more cramped because we gained three people, which is more like two because we lost one). Toph laid across Sokka's, Suki's, Katara's, and Smellerbee's lap. Her head was on my lap. I ran my fingers through her messed up hair, trying to make it look neater. "Aang," Katara said, resting her hand on mine, "she's going to be ok." I nodded, still running my fingers through her hair. "Just because she is probably half dead," I started saying, tears filling my eyes, "doesn't mean she can't have neat hair." Katara nodded then looked around. "What is it Katara?" Zuko asked, looking at her through the review mirror. "It's just that," Katara shook her head, "never mind." I nudged Katara's side with my elbow. "Come on Katara," I said, "spit it out." Katara turned over to face me, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I just thought," She said, her voice quieting down with every word, "I just thought that… that you would understand that by now… I just…" Katara looked away from me. "Katara," I said, resting a hand on her shoulder, "just say it." Katara spun around, and before I could stop her, kissed me. I pushed her away, turning my head. "Katara," I said, "no." Katara looked down embarrassed. "I'm sorry Aang," she said, her voice giving away how sad she was, "I just thought that maybe love could transfer from past lives. I guess not." I looked at her, feeling sorry for her. "I'm sorry Katara, I guess I just don't like you in that way," I said, smiling weakly at her, "but I still like you as a friend." Katara gave me a weak smile. "Oh well," she said sighing, "I tried." I laughed and looked out the window, think to myself. Maybe things will be alright…

Chapter 75

Zuko

I pulled up into the parking lot of our house. I stopped the car and stepped out. I opened the back door and saw tears streaming down Smellerbee's cheeks. "Smellerbee, are you ok?" Smellerbee got out of the car, shaking her head. "Jet's gone again," she said, barley getting the words out, "we'll never see him again. He was our leader." She motioned over to Longshot, "we have no one to lead us anymore. The Freedom Fighters have lost their leader." "No you haven't," I said, "yes, you lost one, but you also gained a great, strong one." I motioned over to Aang who was carrying Toph's limp body out of the car. "Anyone who can fight Azula, get hit with lightening and win is the strongest person there will ever be." Smellerbee nodded. "She is strong," she said, "and a good leader. She led us well those two weeks you were gone." I nodded, remembering those two weeks that I was actually on Azula's side. I'm not proud of me switching sides, and it did nothing for me. All it did for me was made me fight my best friends, no not best friends, my family. Smellerbee started crying again, and I knew it would be a while before she recovered from her lost leader. I looked over to see Aang pick Toph up like a sleeping child, cradling her head. He kicked the car door shut and started up towards the door to the house. I walked over to his side. "She's going to have a scar on her chest," I said, looking down at her pale face, "but her cheek should heal in a couple weeks." He looked down into Toph's lifeless face. Her breathing was shallow; you could barely see her breath. "She's cold," Aang finally said, "we should get her inside." I nodded and opened the door. Aang walked inside and disappeared down the hall. Mai walked up to me and looked inside the doorway. "So many memories belong in this house. In this doorway," she said her eyes showing that she was off in a distant world. I closed my eyes, remembering all the memories that she was referring to. I remembered first finding this place, and leading Aang here. We then gathered Katara and Sokka. We lived here for a month before we found Toph. We had many fights, broken rooms, and funny times in this house. We gathered the Freedom Fighters here. Some of us found our soul mates and some broke hearts. We mastered our elements here. This is our home now. Nothing could ever replace it. I grabbed Mai's hand and walked inside. "I want to show you something," I said, leading her down the hall. She followed me, even though she had no choice. I stopped outside one of the bedroom doors and took a deep breath. I opened the door and stepped inside a ruined room. Mai looked around the room, her eyes wide. "Zuko, what happened in here?" I looked around at the broken mirror, the scratched up walls and the dried blood on the ground. "Memories," I said quietly, "not all of them were good."

Chapter 76

Mai

I looked around the ruined room. I couldn't believe that this room has been ruined for five months. "Why doesn't someone fix it or at least clean it up?" Zuko shook his head. "It would take away the meaning of this room," he said, "this is where the fighting began." I looked over at him, "how? How did the fighting start in this room?" "Toph was attacked in this room," he turned to face me, "this is when I knew that this was going to be a serious fight. This is when we all knew that there was no turning back." "So this room represents the first pain anyone went through here? This is where everyone realized this was going to be a long fight? This is where they realized there will be a lot of pain, probably too much to handle?" Zuko nodded, "that's exactly why we keep the room the same. It represents so much. It has many memories. It's what makes this place so special." I laid my head on his shoulder, gazing around this special room.

"How's Toph doing?" Ty Lee asked at the dinner table. We all ate down the food like we haven't eaten days. Fighting can make you hungry, especially when you're fighting a mad man, or mad woman. "She hasn't changed," Aang said, picking at his salad. He was the only one not eating like an animal. "She's going to be ok Aang," Zuko said. "I know," Aang said, still picking at his salad, "but she is still ice cold, pale, and is barely breathing. She looks like a dead person." "Aang," Sokka said, taking a break from his food, "just wait. She'll be up and running in no time." "I hope your right Sokka," Aang said, staring at his salad. He then pushed his chair away from the table. "Aang," Katara said, sounding worried, "aren't you hungry?" Aang shook his head. "No," he said, "I'm not." "Where are you going?" I asked, watching him walked towards the doorway. "To go sit by Toph," he said, his back to us, "I just want to make sure she's ok. Just to be sure nothing bad happens to her in her sleep." He walked out of the room, leaving us alone. "Poor kid," Longshot said, surprising us all. "Longshot," Katara said, staring at him with amazement, "you talk!" Longshot looked affined. "Yes," he said sternly, "I can talk." Smellerbee nudged him, motioning for him to drop it. He put his head to the table, slowly eating his food again. "Longshot's right," Suki said. She sat next to Sokka, "he's been through a lot today. We've all been through a lot today." Everyone nodded in agreement. Sokka yawned, putting his arm around Suki. "I think it's about time we all got some shut eye," he said, standing up, "good night everyone." "I'll show you all to your rooms," Katara said, standing up. She led us down the hall to our rooms. "This is your room, Mai and Ty Lee," she said, opening a door. There were two beds and one dresser. "Fancy," I said, remembering my rock bed at the cave, "way better than a rock bed." Ty Lee launched into our room, landing on one of the beds. Her long braid flew in the air and landed on her back. "You're right Mai," she said, jumping on her bed, "this is way better than a rock bed!" I looked across the hall to see Katara showing Suki her room. "You'll be sharing a room with Smellerbee," she said, "I hope she won't keep you up all night. Losing Jet was really hard on her." Suki smiled to her. "It's great Katara," she said, "it's better than my prison, and Smellerbee won't bother me. I would love to help her cheer up, even if it means no sleep for the night." Katara smiled and yawned. "Well I better head off to my room," she said, heading down the hall, "good night everyone!" "Good night," we all called down in unison. I walked into our room and flopped down on my bed. "Hey Mai," Ty Lee said, sitting on her knees on top o her bed. She pressed her pillow to her chest. Her big gray eyes filled with excitement and joy. "Let's have a pillow fight!" She said, smiling at me. "No," I said, rolling on my side so that I faced the opposite wall, "now go to sleep."

Chapter 77

Suki

I was awoken by someone sobbing. I lifted my still heavy with sleep head and looked across the dark room. Staying in a dark prison for over two months can really improve your seeing in the dark. I looked over and saw a dark figure curled up into a sitting bed shaking and crying. I walked over to Smellerbee and put my arm around her. Smellerbee knocked me away, still sobbing. "I don't need to comforted," she said, turning away from me, "I can take care of myself!" "Smellerbee," I said, trying again to comfort her again, this time with words, "I just want to he-" "I said I don't need anyone to comfort me!" Smellerbee stomped out of the room, leaving me behind. I watched her go, feeling sorry for her.

I woke up the next morning on the ground. I yawned and looked around me, trying to figure out why I was on the ground. Then I remembered what happened. After Smellerbee stormed out of the room I stayed on her bed. Minutes passed and my eyelids were getting heavier. I tried to get up to get back to my bed, but before I knew it, I was asleep on the ground. "You know the bed is much more comfortable." I jumped at the sound of Sokka's voice. I looked over and saw him standing in the doorway, smiling. I stood up quickly, brushing myself off. "I know," I said, my cheeks turning a light pink, "but I'd thought I'd try the floor too. You know, just to get used to my options." Sokka laughed and put out his am to me, "ready to go get some food?" I take his arm, smiling. "Of course," I said, walking down the hall with him. "We need to make one stop before the dining room," he said, stopping at one of the doors. He knocked on the door quietly. A moment later the door cracked open a little. Katara poked her head out, looking at us. "Can we visit her?" Sokka asked, trying to open the door just a little more. Katara shook her head, sadness filling her eyes. "I'm sorry Sokka," Katara said, shaking her head, "but she's only gotten worse." With that, Katara shut the door in our faces, almost smashing Sokka's fingers in the door. He pulled his hand away at the last moment and looked at me. He gave me the fakest smile I've ever seen, and turned away from the door. "Well," he said, the fake smile still painted on his face, but sadness filled his eyes, "let's go eat."

"What do you mean I can't visit her Katara? I want to help! If she's only getting worse then you're going to need some help," Aang shouted at Katara from the other side of the door. I looked over at Katara, confused. "How come I can come in but he can't?" Katara shook her head at me, smiling a little. "Only girls are allowed with the patient," she said, looking over at Toph. Toph lay as still as a stone. She was as pale as a sheet, and she was ice cold to the touch. The only sign of life was her shallow breathing. Katara walked over to her. There was a bowl of water next to Toph's bed. Katara Water Bended water over Toph and pressed it onto her wound. Toph slightly winced, but other than that, stayed like a stone. The water around Katara's hands and Toph's wound glowed slightly. I watched in amazement, trying to figure out what she was doing. Katara looked over at me and saw the confusion/amazement on my face. "I'm healing her," Katara said, answering my unsaid question. "How are you doing it?" I asked, still watching. "With Water Bending," she said, turning back to Toph, "I'm one of the best." I nodded, still watching. "Amazing," I whispered to myself. I then looked up at her, "so can you heal people with cancer? I mean, if you could that would be amazing! You could get famous real quick and soon everyone would know your name as the girl who found the cure for cancer. That would be awesome Katara, and I could always say, 'I was that girl's brother's girlfriend,'' I said, thinking about how awesome that would be. Katara shook her head. "No, it wouldn't," she said, "It would give us away. We need to stay low, especially with Toph like this. He mother almost got to us, she almost took Toph away. We need to stay away from the outside world for a while. Stay away. We can't give ourselves away like we did at Toph's old house." "Oh," I said, looking away, "ok."

Chapter 78

Aang

I sat against the wall, my head in my knees. "She's getting worse," I said to myself. I felt hot tears fill my eyes. "She's going to die." I closed my eyes and let the tears run down my cheeks. I don't know how long I was there, and I didn't care. I wiped my tears away and stood up. I knew that my eyes were red and cheeks tear-stained, but I didn't care. I walked down the hall into the dining room. My stomach grumbled and I remembered that I haven't eaten all day. I walked over to our tiny fridge and opened it. I looked inside and grabbed out a frozen carrot. I tried to bite into it, but it was too hard. I threw onto the floor, watching it break into pieces. I went into the main room and sat on the couch. I put my head in my hands and closed my eyes, remembering the good times before Toph got hurt.

"_Come on Twinkle Toes, it's just a small climb!" Toph shouted as she started to run up the steep hill. I took a deep breath and followed her. I got about half way up before I had to stop to take a break. I sat down, panting hard. I looked up at the top of the hill to see Toph staring down at me. She pushed her palm to the ground and noticed that I stopped moving. She Earth Bended herself down to me and sat next to me. "Are you tired already, Twinkle Toes?" She asked, picking at the grass. I lay down against the soft grass. "I'm not an Earth Bender Toph," I said, looking up at the blue sky, "I can't Earth Bend myself up the hill like you can." Toph laughed and started putting the picked grass on my face. "Hey," I said, sitting up. Toph didn't feel my motions in time. She flung her hand and smacked me in the face. "Ouch," I said, putting my hands over my nose, "watch where you swinging your fist!" Toph threw her head back and laughed. I smiled at her, knowing she couldn't see my smile. Her laugh was a little like bells and a little evil. Then she became serious. "We only have four months Twinkle Toes," she said, resting her chin on her knees, "and I still don't know Air Bending or Water Bending." I moved closer to her, putting my arm around her. She blushed a light pink, but didn't push me away. I sighed and looked up to the cloudless sky again. "Don't worry," I said, pulling her closer to me, "we'll be ok. You'll learn the Air and Water." She also sighed and leaned into me, putting her head on my shoulder. She looked up towards the sky. "It's been two months since I last saw the things around me," she said, her eyes clouding up, "I don't even remember what the sky looks like. I can only see the things I can feel vibrations from. So that means I can see you guys, just only in my own way." I looked over into her dead eyes, understanding what she meant. She sensed me looking at her and turned to face me. Her black hair fell in front of her eyes. "What are you looking at Twinkle Toes?" She asked, taking her favorite green hat off and fixing her hair, "I know I'm awesome and all, but you don't need to stare." I chuckled at her. Toph put her hat back on, backwards like she always did, and smiled at me. "So, Twinkle Toes," she said, looking towards the sky again, "you like the weather we're having?" I rolled my eyes and laughed at her fail to start a conversation. She picked her head off my shoulder and crossed her arms. "Why don't you try to start a conversation Mr. I can start a better conversation than Avatar Toph," she said. She rolled her eye then laughed. "Wow," she said, "I fail at that too!" I smiled at her. 'This is the best time of my life,' I thought to myself, 'the weather is beautiful, we are all in a peace moment, and I'm with the girl I love.' It was just last month that I kissed Toph, twice, and learned my true feelings for her. "Earth to Twinkle Toes," Toph said, waving her hand in front of my face, "permission to land?" I blinked and looked over at Toph, "permission to land?" Toph sighed and rolled her eyes at me. "You spaced out Twinkle Toes," she said, "I was trying to get your attention."I smiled at her, "you always have my attention Toph." Toph's cheeks turned a light pink. "What was that Twinkle Toes?" I felt my own face turn red. "N-nothing," I said, turning my head away from her. I felt her cool hand touch against my cheek. She turned my head so that I faced her. She smiled at me. "Lair," she said. She dropped her hand back into her lap. We were a breath away from each other. I looked back into her lifeless eyes. I closed my eyes slightly and leaned into her. In less than two seconds we were lip locked. I felt her heart speed up against my chest. She out her arms around my neck and I placed mine around her waist. She then pulled away, surprising me. Her eyes looked guilty. She turned away from me, looking down towards the ground. "I'm sorry Aang," she said, surprising me even more. Not once has she ever called me my real name, and when she did, she quickly put Twinkle Toes after it. I looked over at her, "sorry about what, Toph?" "It's just that." She started, trying to find the right words, "it's just that, I know you like me, but I'm dating Sokka now. I mean, I like you to, but right now I'm Sokka's girl. Maybe someday I'll be your girl, but just not today. I'm sorry Aang." I waved her apology into the air. "No," I said, "I should be the one apologizing. I was the one who kissed you. I know you're dating Sokka and all it's just that I…" I was cut off by Toph kissing me. She pulled away from me and smiled, "shut up Twinkle Toes."_

I woke up to someone shaking me. I yawned and looked up into Katara's blue eyes. "Aang," she said, "you fell asleep on the couch. Are you ok?" I looked around the room, gathering my surroundings. I wasn't outside on the grassy hill anymore with Toph. Instead I was inside, lying on the couch. Toph was in her room, slowly dying as I sat here. "How is she?" I asked, standing up. I started walking towards the doorway, but Katara stopped me by putting her hand on my shoulder. "Aang," she said, sounding worried, "she's going to be ok. Please, just calm down." I shrugged her hand of my shoulder. "I am calm," I said, looking down at the floor, "I'm always calm." "No you're not Aang," she said. She turned me around to face her. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and worry. I turned my head to the side so that I didn't have to look at her. "Ok, maybe I'm a little tense," I said, rolling my shoulders to loosen them up, "but you can't blame me." "No, we can't Aang. We're all worried, about Toph," she said, "now why don't you head off to bed." I nodded and started towards my room. I suddenly turned around. "Katara," I said, rushing towards here. "What is it Aang?" She asked, turning around to face me. "Why can't Sokka, Zuko, Longshot, and I see Toph? You let the girls see her, but not us," I said, starting at her, "give it to me straight." Katara looked down at the ground, avoiding my eyes. "She's not in the best state," she said after a couple minutes of silence, "right now she just needs some gentle voices around her." "I can be gentle," I said, feeling hurt. "I know your gentle Aang," Katara said quickly, "but if we let you see her, then everyone else will feel left out. It's just easier to keep all the guys out until she's in a better condition." "Ok," I said, walking away from her, "just let me be the first to know when we're allowed to visit her." "I will Aang," Katara said from behind me, "I promise."

Chapter 79

Katara

There are certain times when you can panic, and there are times when you need to be calm. This was a time to panic. I was awakened by someone coughing. It sounded like the person was dying… I felt my skip a couple beats as I jumped out of my bed. The coughing stopped as soon as I reached Toph's bedside. She was still as stiff as a rock, but she was even paler. I don't even know how that was even possible. She was whiter than a clean white sheet, whiter than the snow! I touched her cheek. She was even colder than snow itself too! I ran down the hallway to Zuko's room and burst in. He sat up in his bed and held his hands up, about to attack. "Wait, don't shoot," I said, "It's me, Katara." Zuko rubbed his good eye and looked over at me. "What do you want Katara?" He asked, yawning. "It's Toph, she's even paler and colder," I said, "I need you to look at her." Zuko jumped out of his bed and ran down the hall. He ran into our room, almost tripping over Toph's skateboard, and ran to her side. He sat down next to her bed and felt her pulse. "She's still living," he said after a while, "but I need you to use your healing powers on her." I quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl and filled it with water. I ran back to the room, not bothering about being careful because any water that spilled I could easily Water Bend back into the bowl. I arrived into our room and dropped to the floor beside Toph. I Water Bended the water onto Toph's wound and watched it glow. Zuko watched me, his eyes hard and cold. He knew that if he showed any worry that the rest of us would worry, and no one wanted us all to worry. It took some while before Toph gave us a reaction. She let out a cough, shuddered, and then stopped moving. I could still feel her shallow breathing, and I knew that she would be ok for the rest of the night. I sighed a sigh of relief and laid my head against Toph's bedpost. "Let me guess, you're tired," Zuko said, standing up. "No," I said sarcastically, "I'm wide awake!" I let out a huge yawn. "Lair," Zuko said, smiling before he walked out of the room. I shot him a tired smile before I climbed into bed and fell asleep.

"Can I see her now?" Aang asked, getting up into my face. "No Aang," I said, pushing him away. I laid my head on the table and let my dark hair fall across my head, covering me. Aang pushed my head back up and looked at me with his gray eyes. "Why not Katara? Is she getting worse? Tell it to me straight woman!" Aang shouted, shaking my shoulders. I pushed him away. "I'm not saying Aang," I said, looking away from him. Two weeks passed since Toph had her coughing attack in the middle of the night. She was slightly improving, but also slightly getting worse at the same time. It was like she was having with herself, getting better against getting worse. Right now the army's were equally equipped, but we just hope that the getting better army would win. Like everyone else, I was having memories of the good and bad times I shared with Toph…

"_Toph, where are you!?" I called down the hall, turning the corner. Toph and Aang had just gone to explore the house an hour ago. Even though we've been in the house for three months there was still a lot to explore. "Aang," I shouted, seeing if he would answer me. Nothing. I sighed and turned another corner. Sokka and Zuko were out, they went to go get more food, so I was left alone with Aang and Toph. "Where are you two?" I yelled again, knowing that no matter how much I yelled that they still wouldn't answer me. I started opening the doors and peeking inside, think that maybe they were pulling a prank on me. I expected them to pop out of me anytime now, screaming "Boo!" at the tops of their lungs. I opened another door, nope. No screaming or hopping out at me, it was just an empty room. I closed the door and tried the next. I got the same result. I sighed. Where could they be? I opened all the doors in the hall and decided to look outside. I walked back into the main room and out to the court yard. The summer air was turning to crisp fall air. I looked around and finally spotted Toph and Aang. They were sitting next to the giant Oak Tree. I couldn't exactly see them because they were on the other side of the courtyard, but I had a pretty good feeling it was them. I started walking over to them but as soon as they came into focus, I froze. They were sitting next to each other, and they were kissing each other. I stood there, frozen with shock. Toph pressed the palm of her hand flat across the ground, not breaking away from Aang. Then all of a sudden she pulled away from him and turned around to face in my direction. Her face was bright red. "K-Katara," she said, her face turning even redder, "w-what are you doing here?" Aang turned around, and he to, turned a bright red. "I was about to ask the same of you." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. It was Aang's turn to stutter while he talked. "Katara i-it's not what it looks like." "Really," I said, throwing my arms into the air, "you guys weren't kissing each other just now? Don't you remember my brother, your boy friend, Toph?" I asked, staring at her. I don't know why, but I felt less angry than I thought I would be. I actually kind of felt like they were meant for each other… "No, I didn't Katara," Toph said, clearing her throat, "and we weren't kissing, I just accidently fell onto him while talking to him." She sounded so calm, so sure of herself that it made me almost believe her. But I didn't believe her, I don't think anyone would believe her if she said that. I sighed, knowing that this argument was going to go nowhere if we continued. "Don't worry," I said to both of them, "your little secret is safe with me." Aang smiled up at me and stood up. "Thanks Katara," he said, helping Toph up, "but you don't have to worry. It will never happen again…"_

"Yeah right," I said to myself, waking up from my memory. "That was a total lie."

Chapter 80

Sokka

"Aang give it up. We're not going to get inside." I leaned against the wall, dropping to the ground. Aang still kept on hitting the door. "Let us in! We have a right to see Toph too!" "Keep it down Aang! If Toph doesn't wake up on her own then you will surely be the next thing!" Katara yelled from the other side of the door. Aang gave up and pushed himself down the wall, ending up in a sitting position again the floor, like me. He pulled his knees up into his chest and rested his chin on his knees. "Idiots," he said, "they let everyone else I except us. They even let Zuko and Longshot in!" "Zuko is our leader," I said, "and Longshot is quite. We're loud and crazy, probably not the best for a sick person." "She's not sick Sokka!" Aang shouted at me, turning to face me, "she's dying!" "No she's not Aang," I said for what felt like the millionth time, "she just needs her rest." "How much rest does she need!? It's been three weeks!" Aang said, throwing his hands I the air. "People like there rest," I said, turning around to face the wall in front of me, "and right now Toph really likes her rest. Who can blame her? She had to fight for the world, and got shot with lightening. I would sleep a whole year if I were her." Aang sighed, sounding defeated. "Fine, you win Sokka," he said standing up. He went back to the door, hitting it again and again. "Shut up Aang, It's not going to work!" Smellerbee yelled from the other side of the door, "you can come in when she wakes up!" Aang sighed and hit his fist against the door. "Fine," he yelled over to the girls, "but I'll be back!" He then stormed out of the hall and down to our room. Seconds later I heard the door slam shut. I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes…

"_You're such an idiot Snoozles," Toph said, grabbing the puzzle piece from my hand. "Sometimes I wonder who the blind one is." We were putting together a puzzle and I couldn't figure out where one of the pieces went. I just kept on staring at it, and apparently Toph had enough of it. She slammed the puzzle piece on the ground, shaking the whole room. I looked down at the puzzle piece, then at Toph. "Toph," I said slowly, "the puzzle is over to your right." Toph sighed, hanging her head. "I just fail. No more words, I just fail at puzzles," she said. A hint of a smile played against the corner of her lips. I kept my mouth shut, not saying a word. "Aren't you going to say something sarcastic Snoozles?" Toph asked after a while of silence. "You said not to say another word," I said, looking over at her. She raised her head up and looked over at me. "Great," she said smiling."Now I know that you'll listen to me. Good choice Snoozles." I smiled at her, knowing that she couldn't see my smile. She then hit me on the arm, hard. "Ouch," I said, rubbing my arm. Toph smiled over at me. "You know why I did that," she said before I could even ask. She reached over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Now let's get back to that puzzle!"_

Chapter 81

Zuko

I looked over at Toph. Her breathing improved over the last month and her coloring was starting to come back. She was still ice cold though and she hasn't opened her eyes, once. "Do you think she's dreaming?" Ty Lee asked one day, looking at Toph's still figure. "I doubt it," Mai said, playing around with a knife she found, "I bet she's just stuck in Acoma and can't wake up. Maybe she'll sleep forever." "Don't say that Mai," I said, grabbing the knife away from her, "and no more knife for you missy." "What do you think she's doing?" Ty Lee asked, turning to me. "I think she's in the Spirit World," I said slowly, "visiting with the past Avatars. Probably Avatar Kyoshi, they have a lot in common." "What do they have in common?" Mai asked, trying to snatch the knife back. I pulled it away from her. "Well, there both amazing Earth Benders, they both enjoy conflict and they are both strong and independent woman." "Do you think she can visit the past Aang?" Katara asked from the other side of the room. She just finished her healing time with Toph. "Maybe," I said, "but I highly doubt it. Aang's past spirit is in our Aang. I don't think it can be two places at once." "You sound like Sokka," Katara said, shaking her head, "you sound all science-y." Suki stifled a giggle and looked at me. "You do," she said, smiling, "it's funny."

I lay in bed that night, thoughts flooding through my mind. I couldn't clear my mind. The more I tried, the more thoughts came to me. I finally gave up and decided to listen to one. I picked out a random thought… or at least I thought it was a thought. I closed my eyes, pictures popping up out of nowhere. No, this wasn't a thought, it was a memory…

_Don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you. Just listen to us, we'll explain everything. Don't freak out… There were so many things I could say to the younger girl in front of me. She looked scared, who could blame her? There were four unknown kids standing in her room, four unknown kids calling her an unknown name, four unknown kids telling her to follow them, to join them. "Toph," I said, reaching my hand out to her, "we've finally found you." Probably the worst thing to say to her before explaining why we were here, I guess it was just too much on her. She closed her green (which would soon be gray) eyes and fell back. "Smooth move Zuko," Aang said beside me, walking over to the fallen girl. He poked her arm, then her cheek. "She's out cold," he said, walking back over to us, "how are we going to get her out?" "The same way we just came in," I said, "we just walk out." "Won't her parents worry about her?" Katara asked, looking up at me. "We'll leave them a fake note," I said, reaching into my pocket. I pulled out a typed letter. "Is that the letter?" Sokka asked, looking over my shoulder. I nodded, annoyed by him asking the obvious. "Someone grab her," I said, motioning towards Toph, "I'll open the door." Sokka went over and picked Toph up like a sleeping child wile I opened the attic door. Even though this house had many rooms, this girl slept in the attic. I carefully put the note on her bed, and followed everyone else down the steep and creaky steps. Walking as silently as we could, we walked through the house and out the front door. "Get her in the car," I said to Sokka, opening the door for him. I jumped into the driver's seat and started the car. Katara slipped into the passenger's seat while Aang and Sokka slipped into the back with Toph, who was still out cold. I drove the car away from the house as fast as I could, also while trying not to create a scene. "Anyone else feel like we're kidnapping her?" Katara asked, turning around to look at the other two boys and Toph. "It's not exactly kidnapping," Sokka said, pointing his finger up in a teacher way, "Because she is our age, or around our age. It's more like stealing a human body." "Wow, that makes me feel a lot better," Katara said, turning away from Sokka, "it makes me feel like I'm taking a dead body!" We all started laughing at that remark, lightening the mood a little. We arrived at the club house (our house) a couple minutes. Sokka picked Toph up and walked her into her room (which would soon be ruined). I walked into my room and lay on my bed, closing my eyes. We just got Team Avatar back together. I thought that the hard work was over and that everything would be as easy as pie after that… I was wrong. _

Chapter 82

Toph

I was in a white space. There was nothing around me. No walls, no color, no nothing. I looked around, looking for a sign to see if I was alone. Then it hit me. I could see, and I mean see. Not "see" with my Earth Bending, but see with my eyes. "You finally made it." I looked over and saw a bald kid walking over to me. He looked no older than twelve and he had blue arrows running along his arms, legs, and back. One of the arrows even ended on his forehead! I looked down and saw that I wasn't wearing my usual attire. Instead I wore a green dress type thing with a yellowish/brownish over slip. I wore a black belt with half gloves and half shoes. I went up and felt my head. My hair was up in a bun, with a headband holding it up. I looked back over at the person standing in front of me. He looked familiar, but I just couldn't place my finger on it… my finger. I looked down at my hand, then my arm, noticing that I didn't look fifteen anymore. I looked more like a twelve year old… It finally hit me. "Aang," I said, looking over at the strange kid in front of me. He smiled at me. "You finally made it Toph," he said, walking over to me. "Finally made it where?" I asked. I then noticed that my vision was slowly turning black. I was becoming blind again. Aang laughed, noticing the panic on my face. "You finally made it to the Spirit World," he said, "and don't fight it Toph. Let you blindness overcome you. Your blindness is you." I nodded and my vision started disappearing even faster. "Wait," I said, remembering him saying that I made it to the Spirit World, "am I… dead?" The smile vanished from Aang's face, as did his right side. "No," he said, looking serious, "you're not dead. You're almost dead, but you still have life in you." I let out a sigh relief, noticing that I could now only see a quarter of Aang. "Why am I here?" I asked, my vision almost gone completely. Before Aang could answer, I felt a searing pain in my chest. I was hot and burning. I fell to the now black ground and clutched my stomach. "Toph," Aang said. I could feel him running to my side. I looked up and the last thing I saw before the world went black was his worried face.

Chapter 83

Aang

I wish dreams were real, or at least, some of them. Nightmares can stay unreal; I just want the good stuff. Last night was the best dream, at the very beginning the end was the worst.

Toph was there, alive and well. We were walking through the park, laughing and strolling as we walked along. We stopped at the lake and sat down. Toph threw a pebble at the water, and I watched the water ripple. "What does it look like?" Toph asked, putting her ear near the water, "I can barely hear it." I stared at the water, trying to figure out how to explain the beautiful ripples the rock made across the water's surface. "It's…" I said, trying to find the right words, "it's just…. Let's just say it's beautiful." Toph, who was apparently satisfied with my answer, lay down on the grass, her hands tucked under her head. I lay down next to her, looking over at her, then to the sky. Then all of a sudden the scene changed and we were in the fiery cave. I was standing, trapped behind a rock, and Toph was lying on the floor, her eyes closed. Aula then appeared and casually walked over to Toph. She then turned and smiled at me, then pointed her fingers at Toph. Before I knew it, Toph was shot with lightening and dead. I started falling into black nothingness, Azula's laughter ringing in my ears. I landed in the middle of a cemetery, in front of a giant gravestone. Carved into it was Toph's name, and underneath her name was a note. "I killed the Avatar! The world is going to suffer now! All hail Azula!" I turned around from the gravestone and saw the whole city in ruins. Everything broken or on fire, and every where I looked I saw Azula's name or picture hanging up. This was a world I did not want to live in…

I woke up in the middle of the night, breathing hard. I felt my heart pounding in my bare chest, beating up my rib cage. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and pushed my brown hair out of my eyes. I took a deep breath and looked around, taking in my surroundings. I was still in mine and Sokka's room, still in my bed, not in a messed up world. I silently got out of bed and threw on my clothes. I opened the door and tip toed into the hall, pulling my hat over my hair. I close the door and ran down the hall to Toph and Katara's room. The door was cracked open a little. I peeked inside, seeing if anyone was up. Katara was sleeping in her bed (duh, where else would she sleep, the floor?) and Toph was in her bed, motionless. I silently walked into the room, not bothering to close the door behind me. I walked over to Toph and sat down next to her on the bed. 'I wish she was awake,' I thought to myself, 'then she would probably Earth Bend me to China, but at least then I would know she was ok.' I put my hand onto her hand. It was as cold as ice, and only then did I notice how pale she was. She looked like a ghost or just a white sheet. I looked away from her, not wanting to see her lifeless face. I felt her hand shift under mine. I turned my head to look at her. A little color came back to her face, and a slight smile played against her lips. She then opened her mouth just a little bit, as if to say something. Nothing came out, but her smile became a little bigger. I smiled down at her, her smile was contagious. After a while I got up to leave. As soon as I got to the door, I stopped. Toph finally said what she wanted to. I turned around and faced her, her smile finally spreading into a complete one. "Aang," she said, her eyes still closed and her voice barley over a whisper, "I love you."

Chapter 84

Sokka

Aang was talking in his sleep. I tried to ignore it, but after a while it can get on your nerve. I just really wanted to punch this guy in his face right now to make him shut up. I was about to get out of bed, but I changed my mind. It was five in the morning, and I planned on getting my sleep. I sighed and pulled my pillow over my ears, blocking out most of the blubbering idiot across the room. I closed my eyes again, planning to go back to sleep. Yeah, that never happened. No matter how much I tried, sleep would not come! I tried switching positions, but that didn't work. Something was keeping me up, but I didn't know what it was. Aang finally quieted down, and I tried again to fall asleep. Nope, nothing, no sleep came to me. I got mad. It was now six thirty, and all I wanted to do was sleep! "Why can't I sleep?" I yelled, throwing my pillow at Aang. Aang shot out of his bed, fully dressed. I looked over at him with a _dude, what the heck? _look. He looked at me, and then down at his clothes. He shrugged, "woke up early. Got dressed, fell back asleep." "Why were you up, and what time?" I asked, getting out of bed. I gave up on the thought f more sleep because I knew it wasn't going to come. "I don't know why I woke up… and about midnight," he said, walking towards the door. "You woke up at midnight and got dressed?!" I asked, looking over at him. "Like I said, I couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided to walk around the house. I'd rather sleep in my clothes than walk around just in my pajama pants." He had a point there… but still, where would he go at midnight? Before I could ask Aang were he was at midnight he walked out the door, leaving me alone. "I worry about that kid sometimes," I said aloud while searching through my drawers for some clean clothes. "I heard that!" Aang yelled from the other side of the door, "we're the same age you idiot!"

"Can we see her now?" Aang asked impatiently, staring at Katara. Katara swallowed her food and looked at Aang. "Not yet Aang," she said, pushing her bowl away, "but you will be soon. She's getting better." Aang gave her a half smile then walked away. Katara turned to me. "Why aren't you going crazy over Toph like he is? I mean she was your girlfriend," she said, crossing her arms. "I am worried," I said, throwing my hands up in the air, "it's just that Aang is a little over emotional and…" "You used to be over emotional when you dated Toph," Katara said, "are you not as worried now because you're not dating her anymore? Is it because you found someone else to love? Do you still love her Sokka?" Katara walked over to me and sat on the couch with me, looking over at me. I looked over at my twin sister and sighed. "Probably, maybe, and no," I said, answering all her questions, "but I still like Toph as a friend." Katara nodded, then got up and walked towards the doorway. "I'm glad you don't lover her anymore," she said, her hand on the doorway. "Why?" "Because she was talking in her 'sleep,' and she said that she loved Aang." I felt my heart drop, so it was true. Toph really did like Aang. Wait, why do I care? I mean, I'm dating Suki now, and Aang might be dating Toph after she wakes up. So why was I plundering over the fact that Toph likes Aang? "Sokka," Katara said, snapping me out of my thoughts, "are you ok?" "Yeah, I'm fine." Lies are all I can tell.

Chapter 85

Katara

Toph is loud no matter what. She can be quite, but that's rare. I learned to tune her out, and I almost did the night before, until I caught myself. I then heard footsteps and the door close. I sat up, looking around the room. I turned my bedside lamp on and looked over at Toph. She was still on bed and pale, but there was a smile painted on her face. I got up and poked her arm, seeing if she would wake up. She didn't, but her arm did move a little. That's when I knew that everything was going to be alright. She was talking, getting color in her face and having reflects. I yawned and went back to bed, wondering what Toph was dreaming about.

Weeks passed (two weeks to be exact) and Toph was slowly improving. I even let Aang and Sokka see her on her best day. Toph was talking more and more in her sleep, which meant less sleep for me. Sometimes she would talk the whole night. When those nights came I would gather my stuff and camp out in Sokka and Aang's room. Nowhere was a perfect place for me to sleep. But enough about my sleeping life, let's get back to important things, like Toph's health and Aang pondering me to let him see her.

"Now Katara, it's been over two months since I last saw her," Aang said, hitting the door as hard as he could. "I said, you could see her when she wakes up! She's not awake yet!" "Are you sure she's still alive? I mean, if I saw her than maybe I could get an idea on her condition…" "I know you already saw her Aang! You saw her almost a month ago!" Aang was silent for some time, and I was about to say he left, but then he spoke up. "H-how do you know about that?" His voice was barley over a whisper. "It's my room to Aang," I told him, "I heard you." "Can I come in?" "No, Aang, you can't." "Katara! Open this door right now and let me in!" "I'm not going to open this door Aang! You just have to be patient!" Aang tried to open the door, but I slammed it closed on him, bad idea. I heard him let out a cry of pain and fall to the floor. I looked down at him kneeling on the floor, clutching his hand. "Aang," I said, closing the door and kneeling next to him. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was breathing hard. "Aang, let me see your hand," I said, grabbing both oh his hands. He shook his head. "No Katara, I can take care of myself." With that, he ripped his hands away from me and ran off.

Chapter 86

Aang

I ran into my room and locked the door behind me. My hand was throbbing. It was supposed to. Katara just slammed and locked the door on it. I uncovered my hand and looked at my injured one. It was covered with blood and my fingers were bent in all different directions. I tried to bend them, but instead I screamed out in pain. I tried to Air Bend with it, but nothing happened. "Aang let me help!" Katara screamed from the other side of my door, "I want to help. No, I need to help! I did this to you, so let me help you!" "I'm not going to let you help me Katara," I said, pain running through my hand, "I'm going to go to the ER." "Aang we have to stay low," Katara said, trying to open the locked door, "and we also don't have enough money!" "I know who has enough money," I said, mostly to myself. "Who Aang? Who are you going to go to for money?" "I'm going home," I said, opening the door and pushing past Katara. "Aang," Katara cried, "you can't just leave us!" I turned around to face her, my broken hand at my side. "I can do whatever I want Katara," I said, pointing my good hand at her, "you can't stop me."

I ran through the hall and out the door. I stopped bout two blocks away from the house and looked around. To tell the truth, I had no idea where I was. I lived the farthest away from the house, about an hour and thirty minutes to be exact, and I had no intention to walk there. I reached into my pockets, seeing if I had any loose change. There, I grabbed fifty cents out of my pocket and walked across the street to a payphone. I put my money in, took a deep breath, and dialed my house number. My mother picked up on the first ring. "Hello," she said, she sounded worried, but there was a tiny glint of hope in her voice, "who is this? Why have you called, have you seen my son, Adam?" "Yes," I said, slowly, "I have seen your son." "Adam!" My mother screamed into the phone, causing me to jump, "Adam! Is it really you? Oh Adam, where are you?" I could hear her crying. "I'm about two blocks away from the old club house, you know, the one down town." "Stay right there Adam, we're coming to get you!" I heard her hand the phone up. I hung the phone up and sat down on the edge of the road. "Did I really just do that?" I said to myself, putting my chin on my good hand. "Am I really going home?" I hit myself on the head. "Idiot," I said to myself, "now I have to live by the name Adam for the rest of my life!" I sat there for a while, thinking to myself. "Maybe it was for the best," I told myself, "maybe then everyone would be happy. Toph could get better without me pounding on the everyday for hours. It was for the best."

An hour passed, the sky was getting dark. I sighed, thinking that my parents should be here any second. I yawned, stretching my arms in front of me. I looked to the sides of the streets, seeing if any cars were coming. No, no cars… wait. I saw headlights coming closer to me, and I stood up, waving my broken hand in the air. The car stopped in front of me and my mother ran to me from the passenger side. She hugged me and took my hand in hers. I winced because she grabbed my broken hand. She looked down at me, tears in her eyes. "Where have you been for the last eight months Adam?" She asked, trying to keep a stern tone. "I've just been, gone," I said, looking away from her. "Gone where Adam?" She asked then she looked down at my hand. "Oh my gosh Adam! What did you do to your hand?" "I kind of hurt it a little," I said, wincing as she brushed her finger over it. "I think you didn't just hurt it Adam," she said, grabbing my good hand and pulling me towards the car, "I think you broke it!" She pushed me into the back seat and got in the passenger's side. My father looked at me from the driver's seat. "Son," he said, starting the car. "Dad," I said, crossing my arms. My father and I never really had a real relationship like my mom and I. My dad just kind of ignored me, and I did the same. 'Here I go,' I thought to myself, 'I'm going home. Goodbye Team Avatar.'

Chapter 87

Zuko

"What do you mean he's gone?!" I hit my fist on the table and stared at Katara. "H-he just walked out," she said, shaking a little, "I don't know exactly where he went. All he said was that he was going home, but I don't think he did. I think he just went away and… and I don't know!" Tears spilled down her cheeks, "it's all my fault. I broke his hand, I wouldn't let him see Toph and I'm just a horrible person!" "Shut up Katara," I said, looking at her, "it's not your fault. He just apparently had enough with us and got up and left!" Katara looked at me, her blue eyes filled with sorrow. "Are you crazy Zuko!?" She shouted suddenly, making me jump. "Aang wouldn't just get tired of us and leave! He called us his family! He loved us all like a family! It was all my fault Zuko, It really was." "Katara, it wasn't your fault! I will keep on telling you that until you believe it!" "Save your breath," she said quietly, turning away from me, "because I'll never believe it. She walked away then, leaving me alone.

"Zuko, it's time to eat," Mai said, pulling me off the couch. I dropped the book I was reading on her foot. Usually people would show surprise or pain, but Mai showed no emotion. She only looked down at her foot then up at me. "Really," she said, crossing her arms. I bent down and picked the book up. "Sorry Mai." She rolled her gray eyes and grabbed my hand. "Let's go Zuko," she said, pulling me into the dining room. "It's about time you to got here," Sokka said, He was gazing down at his plate, a hungry look on his face. Mai and I sat down and I looked across the table. Two chairs were empty, Toph and Aang's chairs. "Before we eat," I said, stopping Sokka from digging into his food, "I just want to say something." "Well can you hurry it up? I want to eat," Sokka said, staring at me. Suki elbowed him on his side, causing him to quite down. "As I was saying, I just wanted everyone to know that we are all family. That we hope no one else will leave. I don't know what will happen after this, but I just hope we all stay together. If we all do decide to leave, then… I just pray that that doesn't happen. We are all a team and we must stick together. I just hope to see everyone's face next month, everyone's face here, together, not just see each other at school, at the park, library, across the street. Do you guys get what I'm saying?" Every looked at me and slowly nodded. Tears filled Katara's eyes and she smiled at me. "Can we eat now?" Sokka asked, ruining the moment for everyone. "Sokka!" We all yelled at him then we all started laughing. "Dig in everyone," I said, looking over at Mai. A small smile was playing on her lips. First emotion I've ever seen her have, the best one there will ever be.

_I looked over my shoulder at the waves crashing along the sandy beach. "Are you sure it's ok to go swimming at night?" I asked, shivering although the weather was at least ninety degrease. The young woman in front of me rolled her eyes and looked over to the young man standing next to her, they looked like twins. "Of course it is," she said, taking my arm. "Cherry, do I really have to go?" I asked, regretting coming with them. "Come on, Brendan and I are going. Don't you want to swim with your siblings, Zack?" I sighed and turned to my brother and sister who were twins. I was only ten at the time and they were fourteen. I was trying my hardest to fit in with them, but they thought they were "too cool" for a ten year old, and when they wanted me to do something with them, it was usually something bad. "I don't know," I mumbled, clutching my arm. I looked down at the ground, my heart beating fast. "Suite yourself," Brendan said, walking towards the beach with Cherry. "I thought you'd want to come since we were on vacation," Cherry said, flipping her black hair over her shoulder. She looked at me with her ice blue eyes. She had our mother's eyes, so did Brendan. They were halfway to the beach when I decided to go with them. "Wait," I said, catching up to them, "I want to go with you!" They turned around and smiled evilly at me. "I knew you would come," Cherry said, taking my hand, "let's go." _

_The freezing water hit my bare chest, causing my breathing to seize. "I-it's freezing," I said, shivering down to my bones. "It's not that bad," Cherry said, removing her cover-up. She dipped her toe in water and pulled it out immediately. "Is it cold Cherry?" Brendan asked, looking at his twin. "No, no," Cherry said, waving her hand in the air, "I-it's perfect!" "Well why don't I help you get more," Brendan said, running towards the water. He jumped in, splashing Cherry and me. Cherry squealed as the cold water hit her bare arms. "Brendan!" She yelled, gasping for air, "w-why did you do that?" "You said the water was perfect," he said, floating on his back. He seemed unfazed by the freezing water. "I lied," she said, running for her cover-up. She threw it on and grabbed her towel. "Are you leaving Cherry?" I asked, trying to get out of the water. "Oh no you don't!" Brendan jumped on top of me, dunking me under the water. I came up, gasping for breath. I was shaking hard now. I felt tears fill my eyes. "I-I want t-to go b-b-back!" I said, getting out of the water. I ran back to the hotel, freezing to the bone. Before I fully left the beach, I heard Brendan tell Cherry something. Something that I would never forget. "Zack is just a big baby. He will never grow up to be a man." _

They were wrong. I just helped save the world. Not that they would ever believe me.

Chapter 88

Toph

I woke up blind again. The pain in my side stopped and I stood up. I cracked my knuckles and yawned. "About time you woke up," Aang said. I felt him stand next to me. "How long was I out?" I asked, stretching my back. "Twenty years." "What?!" "Kidding, you were only out for about a day." I grabbed him by his shirt and brought his face close to mine. "You do not mess with the Bei-Fong's like that," I said through clenched teeth, "you got that Twinkle Toes?" "Y-yes Toph," he said, stuttering. He was shaking from fear. I pushed him away from me, making him fall to the ground. I wish I could have seen the look on his face then! I bet it would have been priceless! "You're still pretty strong Toph," he said, scrambling to his feet. "Who said I was weak?" I asked, looking over at him. "No one, it's just that when I got hit with lightening I was only out for about a month. You've been out for about two months and two weeks." I looked down at ground. "It's really been that long?" Aang was silent. "Twinkle Toes, answer me!" "I'm nodding Toph," he said, "and sadly, a lot had changed since you last were awake." "What changed? Did Azula win? Is the world ending?" I asked, putting my hands on my face. I'm not one to freak out, but right now I was freaking out, big time. "No, and no," Aang said, "but it seems like that in your house." "What's happening Aang?" I asked, grabbing onto his arm, "tell me!" "Someone has left the house, and there is just no more hope. Everyone thought you were going to die, if you weren't already dead." "I'm dead?!" "No, but the other Aang thought you were. They wouldn't let him see you." "Ok, you saying 'the other Aang' sound kind of weird. I mean, aren't you him? Didn't your spirit reincarnate into him?" "A little of my memory, but not all of it. Only my memory of my life as the Avatar, and my Air Bending knowledge, but that's it." "Wait, does that mean that a little bit of the 'old' Toph lives in me, not all of her?" "No," Aang said sadly, "Toph gave everything to you. You got a little of her when you were born. You're rough and sarcastic attitude and your wish to be free and travel the world to be away from you parents, that was from her. You were going to be born blind, but we told Toph to save some of herself for when you got your memory of her life. She gave you the rest of her when you got your memory. You are the real Toph Bei-Fong. There is no 'other' or 'old' Toph. You are the only one." "You mean, there is no other me here?" I asked, letting what Aang say sink in. "No. That's why you learned Earth Bending and Metal Bending so fast. Toph gave you that, she knew that it was going to be rough for you, especially when you became blind. She gave you her Earth Bending do you could see, and she gave you her Metal Bending because she thought you'd might need it." "So you lost Toph's spirit because she gave it all to me? That is so sad Aang. You lost your Earth Bending teacher and your best friend. That's so sad Aang." "There is an upside though," Aang said, changing the subject. "What's the upside?" I asked, playing with my half-gloves. "Since you are fully Toph, that means you get a free pass to the spirit world. You have all the knowledge you need on the original Team Avatar. You have all her strength." "I have all the knowledge of everyone?" I asked. An evil smile spread across my face. "I wonder what I can bother everyone with." "Sifu Toph," Aang said, putting his hand on my shoulder, "you didn't change one bit."

Chapter 89

Sokka

"It's so… quite." Katara nodded. She looked over at Toph's sleeping body. A grin was on Toph's face. "Thanks for letting me see her," I said. "No problem," Katara said, "we don't want to lose anyone else because they couldn't see Toph." "Is that why Aang left?" Katara shrugged her shoulders. "He could have left for many reasons. That could have only been just a little bit of why he left." "So, you think it could have been you breaking his hand that made him leave?" I asked, elbowing her in the side and smiling at her. "It's not the right time for you to be cracking jokes about that Sokka," she said, tears filling her eyes, "it's still too soon." I looked away from her and got up. "It's not your fault Katara," I said, walking towards the door, "you're going to have to let it go sometime." I walked out of the room, leaving Katara with that thought.

"Need help? I'll be there. Need comfort? Just call me up. Want some of my food? Get away, just get away." I said to Suki, pulling my food away from her. "Come on Sokka," she said, reaching for one of my pieces of chicken, "just one piece!" "Nope," I said, "not even my girlfriend can get any on this." I pointed to my food, then at me. "It only belongs to this guy." "Really Sokka?" She asked, looking at me with her purple eyes, "not even a little piece?" "Nope, not even a tiny piece." Before I could stop her, Suki reached out and grabbed a piece of my food. "I think I got a piece of your food Sokka," she said, taking a bite out of it. "I let you do that," I said. "Yeah right! Just say it Sokka, I beat you. Guys aren't the only ones who can be warriors," Suki said, smiling at me. I smiled back at her and ripped the food out of her hand. She sat there, shock all over her face. "Guys are better warriors," I said, taking a bigger bite out of the food.

"I'm entering the hospital room," I said, opening Katara's door. "It's a normal room Sokka," Katara said, "just because a person is being healed in this room doesn't make it a hospital." She was hunched over Toph, healing her wound. I went over and looked over her shoulder. "That's one nasty scar," I said, looking at the big red scar on Toph's chest. "Uh huh," Katara said, concentrating on Toph's wound. "Did you even hear me?" I asked. I knew that when she said "Uh huh," that she wasn't exactly listening. "Uh huh," she said, "now will you leave me alone?" "Nope," I said. I walked over to her bed and lay down. "When will she be awake?" Katara shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I hope soon." "Who's going to tell her that Aang's gone?" Katara froze for a second then went back to healing Toph. "I don't know," she said, "I just hope that the person that does tell her doesn't get squashed like a bug." "Never thought of that," I said, putting my hands under my head, "I hope I'm not the one to tell her. I still have to tell her that we're not dating anymore." "Wait, you guys were actually dating?" Katara started cracking up, she laughed so hard that she almost splashed the water all over Toph. "Yes, we we're," I said, sitting up and looking at her. Katara stopped laughing and looked over at me. "You guys were really dating? I thought it was just a day thing." "No, it lasted almost five months Katara," I said, propping myself on my elbows. "I didn't notice," she said, turning back to Toph. She pulled the water off her wound and placed it back into the bowl next to her. She turned to face me. "Actually, I kind of did notice, but then again, I don't really pay attention to what you do." "Well that's nice," I said sarcastically. "Don't make me shoot this water at you." She reached for the bowl and turned the water into ice. "I'm not afraid to do it." "N-no need to do that Katara," I said, backing away from her, "I'll be a good boy!" "Good," Katara said, smiling. She turned the ice back to water and set the bowl down. "Now let's go get some fresh air." I followed her to the door. I turned around to look at Toph. 'Poor girl,' I thought, 'she's missing out on a lot of stuff.'

Chapter 90

Toph

"So, when I am I going to get out of this Spirit place?" I asked, taking a sip of my tea. "Soon," was all Aang said. "When is 'soon'?" I asked, putting my empty cup down. "Want more tea?" Aang asked. I felt him pick the tea kettle up and hold it over my cup. I shook my head. "Aang, when is 'soon'?" Aang put the tea kettle down and was silent. "I don't know Toph," he finally said after a couple minutes of silence, "why do you even want to leave? Don't you like it here?" "It's nice here," I said, "but it's not exactly my home. My home is with my Team Avatar, not your Team Avatar." Aang was silent for some time. "Aang," I said, looking over in his direction, "are you still here?" "I'm here." "Why are you so quite?" "I don't know what to say…" I needed to change the subject. "You know Aang," I said, scooting closer to him. I felt his heart beat speed up. "The whole time I've been here, I haven't met the rest of the Original Team Avatar." "I-I can have them come here," Aang said. His heart beat was still fast. I smiled at him, "super."

I felt footsteps coming towards me. By the feel of it, it felt like three people were coming towards us. "Toph!" I felt someone run over to me and hug me. "Katara?" I asked, "Is that you?" "Yes Toph, it is." "If it isn't the Blind Bandit in the flesh," someone said, coming over to me and smacking me on the back. "Good to 'see' you too, Snoozles," I said, hitting Sokka on the arm. I felt him fall to the ground. "I think I'll stay back here. Good to see you Toph." I knew that was Zuko for two reasons. One, his voice was dreary, and tow, he was the last person on Team that I haven't met. "Come on Zuko, I don't bite," I said, walking towards him. "No, you don't," he said, backing away from me, "but you do hit, kick, fight, and scream… must I say more?" "Come on Zuko," I said, trapping him with my Earth Bending, "I haven't changed one bit." I walked over and punched him on the arm. "Good to see you Sparky." "Good to see you too, Toph."

We all sat around the round table, drinking our tea. I took one sip of it and almost died. "Zuko," I said, spitting my tea out, "you really don't know how to make tea." I set my cup down and pushed it away with Earth Bending. "Thanks," Zuko said sarcastically, "it really means a lot." I laughed and turned to Aang. "Do you have any of that tea we had left, Twinkle Toes?" "I think so, but it might be cold." "It's probably better than Sparky's by a long shot," I said, pointing my thumb towards Zuko's direction. "Hey," Zuko said, sitting down next to me, "my tea is good." "Define 'good,'" Sokka said. I heard him pour his tea on the ground. "Uncle said it was good," Zuko said. He picked up his tea and took a sip f it. I felt him have a hard time swallowing. "Mmm," he said, keeping his mouth closed. "Three, two, one," I said, counting down on my fingers, as soon as I hit one, Zuko spit out his tea on the table. "Ok," he said, grabbing some napkins, "it's bad." "Way to go Sparky," I said, hitting him on the arm, "you learned the truth about your tea on your own!" "Actually, we told him how bad his tea was," Sokka said. I punched him on his arm. "Shut up Snoozles." "What?" He said, "We did tell him." "Sokka, just be quite," Katara said to her older brother. All of a sudden I felt dizzy. I planted my hands on the table to keep me from falling. "Toph," Aang walked over to my side, "are you ok?" "I-I'm dizzy," I said, closing my eyes. "Toph, you're waking up," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder to steady me. "Y-you mean, I'm leaving you guys?" I asked, pushing down harder on my hands. "Yes," Aang said, sadly, "you are." "B-but I'm not ready to go," I said. I could feel the tears coming, and I tried to hold them back. "I'm sorry Toph, but you're ready to go. You can't stop it." "Well, I guess this is good bye," Zuko said. "Will I ever see you guys again?" I could feel Aang smile. "Of course you can Toph," he said, "whenever you want to visit us, all you have to do is mediate. It's like going into your Avatar State." I tried to smile, but I felt to dizzy to even open my eyes. "Good bye everyone," I said, before blacking out.

I sat up in bed, wincing. I immediately felt my head. My hair was down, not in a bun. I smiled to myself. "I'm awake," I said quietly. I got out of bed and winced again. My chest was hurting, and I felt like I wanted to just die. "Maybe it's Zuko's tea," I said, walking slowly towards the door. A sharp pain raced up me, from my chest to my head, and I wobbled to the side. "Why does it hurt so much?" I asked, gripping my stomach. I finally made it to the other side of the room, only to find out it was the wrong side of the room. "Really Toph, really?" I asked myself, walking to the other side of the room. Finally, I made it to the door. I opened it and walked outside to the hallway. "I never knew walking could be this hard." I scowled at myself, almost falling over. I threw my hand onto the wall, causing it to shake. "We're under attack!" "Shut up Sokka, we're not under attack; it's probably just the pipes." "Well then Katara, why are the pipes so noisy?" I sighed, Katara and Sokka were still arguing over the littlest things. I made my way down the hall, slowly. I was almost to the main room when I heard someone behind me. "Toph?"

Chapter 91

Zuko

I couldn't believe my eyes. Toph, the girl that we thought died, was standing right in front of me. "Yes," she said, looking clueless, "what is it Zuko." "Y-your awake," I said, amazed. She tilted her head to the side a little, trying to figure out what I meant by that. Then she smiled and laughed, then winced. "Zuko," she said, catching her breath, "don't make me laugh. It hurts too much." I ran over to her side and put her arm over my neck. I had to crouch down a little because she was shorter than me, but no by that much. I helped her into the main room. "Toph, is that you?" Katara stood up and offered Toph her on the couch. She then looked down at Sokka. "Sokka, get up. Toph needs to sit down." "No, no, it's fine. We can share the couch," Toph said. I set her down on the couch. As soon as she hit the couch, she winced. "Actually," she said, standing up, "I think I'll stand." She wobbled to the side, almost falling into the side table. "No Toph," I said, grabbing her arm before she could fall, "I think you should lie down." I turned to Sokka, "get up Sokka. Let the injured girl have the couch." Sokka sighed and got up. I laid Toph on the couch. Sokka looked down at Toph. "Um, Toph," he said, scratching the back of his head, "I have something to tell you." "I already know what it is," Toph said, "you're breaking up with me." Sokka looked shocked. "How'd you know I was going to say that?" Toph shrugged her shoulder, "I just knew. We were growing apart anyway, and I found a new crush." Toph was gazing up at the ceiling, lost in her own world. Then she finally snapped back to reality. "Where's Twinkle Toes?" Katara, Sokka, and I looked at each other, shaking our heads. Toph felt our silence, and looked up to us. "Where is Twinkle Toes?" She asked, again, this time more sternly. Sokka and Katara stared at me, telling me with their eyes that I had to tell her the bad news. "Toph," I said, backing away from her, "Aang." I paused for a second, trying to figure out how I should approach the subject. "He's gone Toph," I said, hanging my head. I was expecting a giant rock to come from the ceiling and crush me, or a fireball enveloping me and burning me to death. Nothing came, all there was, was silence. I opened my eyes and looked over at Toph. Tears were filling her eyes and her face was full of sadness and shock. The, it turned to anger, extreme anger. "You mean he just got up and left?" Toph yelled, trying to sit up. She got her back up against the couch and winced, but she didn't let the pain stop her. "He didn't just leave," Katara said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, "we kind of just had a rough patch." "A rough patch?" Toph asked, standing up. She slid to the side, but used her Earth Bending to keep her up. "Yeah," Sokka said, "Katara broke his hand." "Sokka," Katara hissed at him, "shut up!" "You broke his hand?! What kind of monster are you?!" Toph yelled. She raced towards the door, using her Earth Bending and little of Air Bending. "Toph," I yelled, racing after her, "where are you going?" "To go get Aang," she said, stopping at the door, "we can't split up. If we do… I don't even want to think about losing all of you guys." I stopped behind her. "Toph," I said, laying a hand on her shoulder. I turned my head and looked at Sokka and Katara. They nodded at me. "You can't go…" "What?!" Toph yelled, turning around to face me, "you can't tell me what to do!" "Let me finish," I said, covering her mouth with my hand, "you can't go without a ride. Also, you have to let Katara finish healing you before we go." Toph flicked my hand from her mouth. A smile spread across her face. She hugged me. "Thanks Zuko." She pulled away from me and went over to Katara. "Chop chop Katara, I want to get there as fast as we can."

Chapter 92

Katara

"Hold still Toph," I said, splashing water all over her. "You try holding still when you feel like your chest s just going to separate from your body," Toph said through clenched teeth. I rolled my eyes at her and bended the water off of her. "Let's try this again." Toph tried to stay as still as she could, but she kept on moving every now and then. "Can't you Earth Bend yourself still?" I asked, getting annoyed with her. "If we were on the ground I could," Toph said, "but right now, I'm on my bed, not the ground, so nope." I smacked my head. "Get on the ground Toph." "Got it." Toph slid off her bed, and onto the ground, she bended the Earth around her, leaving only an opening for her wound and her face. "No way I can move in here." I sat down next to her and applied the water t her wound. She closed her eyes. After a while, she reopened them. "Hey," she said, smiling, "it's not that after a while. It actually feels good. Tingly, almost." "So glad you're enjoying it," I said, taking the water off of her, "but it's over." Toph unbended herself and got up. "It doesn't hurt anymore," she said, reaching down and touching her toes. "Before we go though you might want to change your shirt," I said. Toph looked confused, "why?" 'Because you have a big hole in the front." Toph reached down and touched the hole in her shirt. "Might as well," she said, turning towards her dresser. "Het Katara," she said, opening one of the drawers, can you get my usual outfit out?" I walked over by here and looked in the drawer. I pulled out her khaki shorts, tank top, and her hat. I went by our door and grabbed her shoes. "Here you go," I said, handing them to her. Toph walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" I asked, confused. "To take a quick shower," she said, pinching her nose, "I stink."

"I'm coming," Toph said, running a brush through her hair. She grabbed her hat and pulled it on while walking out the door. "Well hurry up! I thought you wanted to get there as soon as possible," Sokka yelled from the car window. Toph walked over to the car, brush still in hand. She walked over to Sokka and ran it down his arm, pushing down on it. "Ouch," Sokka said, pulling his arm away. "Don't tell me to hurry up, only I can tell you to hurry," she said, climbing in the back seat. "Lets go Sparky," she said, squeezing in next to Suki. "I think you need a bigger car," Mai said, sighing. She was next to me and Smellerbee. Longshot, Sokka, and Zuko were in the front, and the girls were stuck in the back. "One of you could come sit with us," Zuko said, "Longshot has some space on his lap." Longshot's ears turned red, but he still said nothing. "I'll do it," Smellerbee said, using Mai's shoulder and my shoulder to get up. She stepped over the seat and sat on Longshot's lap. "Now get the move on so I can get off his lap." Zuko started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "So, where exactly are we going?" I asked, looking out the window. "To Aang's house," Toph said, rolling her eyes, "keep up Katara." "I know where we're going, but I mean how far is it?" "About an hour and a half away, two hours if we hit traffic," Zuko said, his eyes on the road. "You really need a bigger car now," Mai said.

Chapter 93

Aang

"Does it hurt?" My mother asked, looking at my arm. I had a temporary cast on it. Who knew doors could cause so much pain? "No, it doesn't hurt," I said, rolling my eyes and looking away from her. She kept on asking me if it hurt, and it was getting annoying. Now I was regretting ever leaving the house. "I'm going to bed now," I said, standing up. I walked up the stairs to the second floor and entered my room. No, not my room, it was Adam's room. I looked around. Even though I've been here for about a month, I still didn't recognize what was in my room. The room was orange, with a yellow strip running across the top. My bed was in the middle of the room (I put it there because I like to act different, or used to act different). Posters covered one wall and all the other walls were bare. I closed my door behind me and fell onto my bed. I closed my eyes and sighed. I missed the house, I missed the team. Why I left, I will never understand. I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes, it was eight instead of six thirty. I heard a car pull up front. I ignored it and closed my eyes. The door bell rang and my mom answered the door. "Is Adam home?" I knew that voice. I quietly got out of my bed and walked towards the door, opening it up a crack. "Yes, he is," my mother said, "why don't you come in." I heard someone run into the door. "Are you ok?" My mother asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. I am just a klutz." "Adam is upstairs in his room. He might be asleep, I don't know," my mother said, closing the door. I heard someone walking up the stairs and stop at the top. "Aang, where are you?" I opened my door a crack, "in here." I heard the footsteps get closer. Someone opened my door. Toph stood in front of me, her hand on her hip. "Thanks for leaving me you no good…" I ran over to her and kissed her. Her face played many emotions after I pulled away, first shock, then joy, then love, then happiness, the anger, really bad anger. She brought her hand back and slapped me across my face, hard. I brought my hand up to my cheek, "I deserved that." "Yes, you did Twinkle Toes." She then shook her head, coming back to the real world. "Good to see you too Aang," she said, hugging me. "I missed you Toph," I said, pulling away from her and looking in her dead eyes, "I thought we'd lost you Toph." "You didn't lose me, I'm right here," she said, pointing at herself. I laughed. "Where's everyone else?" I asked, looking around. "In the car," Toph said, heading towards my window. She waved out the glass to the car in our drive way. Zuko poked his head out the window, waving to us to hurry up. "So, Aang," Toph said, looking away from the window, "are you coming with us, or are you going to stay here?" "I' coming with you," I said without a second thought, "my parents are getting annoying." "I bet," Toph said, grabbing my good hand, "let's go." "Wait," I said, stopping, "how are we going to get passed my parents?" Toph pulled her hand away from mine and put it on her hip again. "Good question Twinkle Toes," she said, cupping her chin with her other hand. We were silent for some time. "Can't we just walk out?" Toph asked, looking over at me. "I don't know, my parents might get suspicious," I said, looking towards the door, "but it's worth a shot." Toph took my hand again and opened the door. We walked down the stairs to the door. "Don't you to look cute together," my mom said, scaring us both. I didn't see my mom when we were walking down the stairs, but there she was, sitting on the couch, drinking her coffee. "Now, where would you two be going at eight thirty?" Toph cleared her throat. "We're going to go see a movie with some friends," she said, pulling me towards the door, "we might want to go now, I think they're getting impatient out there." "What movie are you going to go see?" My mother asked, still sitting on the couch. "Oh, you know," I said, scratching the back of my head, "whatever they have there. We're not picky." My mother sighed. "I don't know if you should go Adam." "What?" I asked, looking over at Toph. She shrugged her shoulders, telling me that I was on my own here. "What do you mean I shouldn't go?" "I just don't think you should go, especially after you ran away. We can't afford losing you again." "But mom," I said, sounding like a little kid, "I have to go. My friends will think I'm a nerd if I don't go!" Toph snickered at that remark, but I ignored her. "What's wrong with being a nerd?" My mom asked, taking a sip of her coffee, "I thought girls loved nerds." Toph covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing. My mom looked over at her. "I think you'd find a better girl if you were a nerd," my mom said, studying Toph. Toph stopped laughing and glared at my mom. "What's that supposed to mean?" "It's supposed to mean that I don't think you should be dating my son. You dress to much like a street rat for my taste." My mother has never said something rude to anyone, ever, and now ere she was, insulting Toph. That was different, and a really bad idea. "I don't dress like a street rat," Toph said, ripping her hand out of mine. She pointed her finger at my mom, "I have my own style, and you got to deal with it." "No, I don't," my mother said, standing up. She walked over to Toph and pushed her hand down. "I don't have to deal with it because you are not welcome at my house anymore. Now if you would just kindly leave…" Toph gave my mom an evil look as she pushed her out the door. "Mom," I said as she shut the door on Toph, "why did you do that? That was my girlfriend!" "I don't want you dating girls who dress like guys. It's just not lady like," my mom said, turning towards me, "you got that mister?" I shook my head and ran up the stairs to my room. I slammed the door behind me and locked it. I ran to my window and looked outside. The car was still there, I still had a chance. I silently opened my window and poked my head out. Toph was standing by the driver's side of the car. Zuko leaned his head out the window, talking to her. I climbed out my window and hugged the wall, climbing down slowly. After a while, I finally made it to the ground. "Guys, wait," I said, running towards the car. Toph turned to face me, a smile painted across her face. "Looks like you found a way to get to us with us blowing your house," she said, hugging me. "Good to see you Aang," Zuko said, poking his head back out of the car, "now get in before your parents see us." I climbed in the back of the car after Toph and was greeted by everyone. "So, how does it fell to officially date Toph?" Sokka asked, smiling at me from the passenger's seat. "Amazing," I said, putting my arm around Toph. Toph laid her head on my shoulder and yawned. "You're tired?" Sokka asked, amazed, "but you were passed out for a little over two months! How can you be tired?" "I don't know," Toph said, shaking her head, "I guess I just am." "That makes no sense," Sokka said, turning back towards the front of the car.

Chapter 94

Sokka

Was I jealous of Aang? Did I really miss Toph, or was I just confused? Ok, I'm confused now. I can't tell if I still love Toph, or if I'm upset that Aang is dating her now. Should Aang even be allowed to date her? I mean, he basically stole her from me! He kept on kissing her and flirting with her (in his own way). Maybe I was just tired, maybe all I needed was a good night's sleep and all those feeling would disappear. I looked at Toph and Aang from the review. Toph was asleep on Aang's chest and Aang had his arm around her. I forced myself to look away. 'Just ignore it Sokka, just ignore it," I thought to myself, closing my eyes.

I don't know what was worse, being in the car that long squished in the backseat (even though I wasn't back there, but I was squished back there after the fight) or being I the car that long after drinking a lot of water. I ran out of the car and into the house, not stopping for anything. "Sokka, wait," Aang said, running after me. "Hold on Aang," I said, not stopping, "just give me a minute!"

"Ok, what's up?" I asked, looking at him. "I hope you're not upset about me and Toph, you know, dating," he said, fixing his arrow hat. "No, no, I'm not upset," I said, waving his question away. Aang looked me over, "you sure? You don't look ok." "I'm fine Aang," I said, "now get out of my way." I pushed past Aang and walked into the main room with everyone else. "About time you got here, we thought you'd run away," Toph said, "Looks like I owe Zuko ten dollars now." Zuko smiled, "Toph said that you ran away, but I said, you didn't. So, we bet on it." He turned to Toph, "pay up." "I don't have the money now Sparky," Toph said, tugging at the collar of her shirt, "but hey, you don't really need the money!" "But you lost Avatar, now pay up." Toph looked around. "But I just woke up! Let me be happy," Toph said, leaning back against the couch. "Fine, but I'll get that money from you sooner or later," Zuko told her, putting his arm around Mai. "What are you, my bank?" Toph asked, kicking her soulless shoes off. I went over and sat next to Katara. "Where's Aang?" Katara asked, looking around. "In the hallway," I said, leaning back against the wall. We needed more chairs. We had two couches that fit two people, maybe three and two chairs. That means at least two people are on the ground, maybe one. Aang walked in the room then. "Het Twinkle Toes," Toph said, throwing her feet on the table and putting her hands behind her head. He looked around, looking for a place to sit. "There's room right here," Toph said, scooting over. Toph was sitting in the middle of one of the couches, but when Aang needed a spot, she moved over. "Thanks," Aang said, sitting next to her. "So," Mai said, looking around at everyone, "what do we do now?" Before anyone could answer, there was a loud scream outside. We all ran to the window, everyone except Toph. Instead, she ran to the front door. We all followed her, seeing what she was up to. Once she got outside, she pushed her foot down hard on the ground. "You're not going to like this," she said, concentrating on her foot, "but we have some company."

Chapter 95

Toph

I felt footsteps coming towards us. They were familiar, very familiar. I didn't even have to see the person (even though I can't anyway) to know who it was. Those footsteps belong to the person who tried to kill me, and almost succeed. She didn't seem in a hurry, she was walking like she was nowhere to be. "Toph, who is it?" Aang asked, walking over to me. "Azula," I muttered, running in her direction. "Who? Toph wait," Aang yelled, running after me. I felt the whole team running after me. I turned around to face them. "She's back." I felt the footsteps coming closer, and faster. "I-I thought we locked her up," Ty Lee said. I could feel her heartbeat speeding up in fear. "Stop," I said, pointing at her, "Don't be afraid. She can smell fear." That didn't help, nope, not one bit. "How am I supposed to stop being scared?" Ty Lee asked, jumping from one foot to another. "Think of happy thought," Mai said, stepping away from her. Ty Lee took a deep breath and her heartbeat slowed down. "Can she really smell fear?" She asked after awhile. "I wouldn't be surprised if she could," Zuko said. He started walking towards Azula. "Zuko, wait," I said, running in front of him, "I should lead the way. I know where she is." "No, Toph, you stop." Aang ran up and turned me around. "I think we should wait to fight Azula. We all need some rest,' he said, reaching down to hold my hand. I pulled away from him. "We need to fight Aang," I said. A sudden wave of tiredness flew over me. "No, you need rest," Aang said, grabbing my arm. "I'm taking lead," he said, pulling me back towards the club house, "we all need rest. Right now Azula is not a big threat. We can deal with her later. Right now we need to rest, alright?" No one agreed, yet no one objected. We all slowly headed back to the club house, tired and exhausted. Aang brought me in my room and laid me down on my bed. As soon as I hit my pillows, I was out.

"Glad you made it." I spun around, even though I couldn't see. "Yeah, I made," I said, breathing hard. "Was it that hard?" "Well, yeah. All you said was to meditate… um, hello! This is me we're talking about. Me mediating is like the fish breathing out of water." Aang laughed. (No, not my Aang. This is the bald monk Aang. Ha, he's bald!) "But you made it," he said, walking away from me. "Where are you going?" I asked, racing after him. He stopped suddenly and I ran into him, knocking us both down. I got off of Aang and helped him up. I pushed my hand to the ground. "I can barley feel any vibrations here," I said, picking my hand up. I felt something gravely in my hand, then all over the floor. "Where are we?" I asked, my 'vision' going blurry. "We're in the desert," Aang said, grabbing my hand, "we're going to the library." "I thought that place sunk into the ground. And why would you want to go back there?! That's where you lost Appa!" I said, even though I let him lead me. "We brought it back up," he said, pulling me along the horrible desert, "it's our new house… sort of." "So, the library is like the club house?" I asked, feeling blind for the first time. "Well…. Yes, it is," he said. We stopped finally, I was glad to take a break, but I still had no idea where we were. "Hold on," Aang said. I heard him open his glider and he grabbed me by the waist. We flew up about fifty feet until he put me down. I felt the vibrations in the floor as soon as he put me down. We were in a large stone building with long halls and many rooms. "Welcome to the library," Aang said, "want a tour?" I stomped my foot on the ground, getting a better sight of the library, "nope."

We walked through the library, talking about the good old times. "Ha, I almost forgot about that Twinkle Toes," I said, crouching over and laughing, "I'm defiantly going to have to tell Sokka that!" "How could you forget about him on cactus juice?" Aang asked, laughing. "Well, we were in the worst place ever and I couldn't 'see' him, so, I forgot," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Fair enough," Aang said. I suddenly felt like someone was shaking me. "I think I'm having a rude awakening," I said, feeling dizzy. "Looks like it," Aang said, "don't fight it Toph. Just let it overcome you, if you fight it, then it only cause's trouble." Why did he always say that? Before I could ask, I fell to the ground. I woke up in my own bed, not in the library. "Get up Toph," Katara said, shaking me, "it's almost noon. You need to get up!" I sat straight up, scaring Katara. "It's almost noon?" I asked, jumping out of bed. "Yeah, I was going to wake you up earlier, but you were sleeping like a rock." "I wasn't sleeping," I mumbled as I walked out the door, "I was wide awake." "What was that Toph?" Katara asked, rushing after me. I closed the door on her face, and smiled to myself. I ran down the hall, my bare feet slapping the cold floor. I ran to the main room. Running fast was a bad idea. I tried to stop at the doorway, but I slid past and ran into the wall. "Toph!" I heard Zuko run over to me, "are you an idiot?" "No," I said, standing up, "I'm excited." "Why are you so excited?" I looked up at Zuko and smiled. "I had the best night ever last night!" Zuko was silent for a moment. "Azula got out last night… was that good?" I rolled my eyes at him. "No Sparky, I mean I went over to the spirit world night last night. Oh, and I'm taking money out of the food money. We have extra, and I want it. So give me," I said, holding my hand out to him. Zuko sighed and I heard him reach into his pocket. He pulled out something and opened it. "How much?" He asked, digging through his wallet. "I don't know, how much is an I-pod?" Zuko stopped digging through his wallet. "Why do you need an I-pod?" "Because there is nothing for me to do,. I can't read, I can't write. I'm bored," I said, crossing my arms, "so you going to give me money or not?" Zuko sighed again and pressed some paper in the palm of my hand. "Here's one hundred and fifty dollars, use it wisely," he said, walking away. "Wait," I said, stuffing the money in my pocket, "I need a ride!"

Chapter 96

Zuko

I turned around to face Aang and Toph, "every one ready?" "Hit the pedal Sparky!" Toph yelled, buckling her seat belt. I looked over to Aang. "Let's go," he said, tightening his seat belt. I backed the car out of the driveway and drove down the street. "So, where is the store?" Toph asked, looking at her window, even though she couldn't see. "It's about twenty minutes away," I said, turning my attention back to the road. "I thought there was one closer," she said. I saw her look at me through the review mirror. "There is, but were going farther." Toph scrunched up her face, "that makes no sense Zuko." "Actually it does," Aang said, taking Toph's hand, "the last time we went to the store, your mom got you. It's safer to go farther away so our parents don't get us." "Whatever," Toph said, rolling her eyes, "just as long as I get my I-pod."

We pulled up to the store, and as soon as we stopped, Toph hopped out of the car. "Come on Twinkle Toes! Hurry up Sparkly! We got to go get it!" Toph said, grabbing our hands. I looked over at Aang and he shrugged his shoulders. 'I think she's excited," he mouthed to me, looking at Toph. "I felt that," she said, letting go of my hand and using to take off Aang's hat. "Hey," Aang said, trying to grab his hat, "give it." Toph pulled it away and stuck her tongue out at him. "No way Twinkle Toes." Aang then took Toph's hat, "now we're even." Toph put Aang's hat on (surprisingly, she put it on correctly) and rubbed Aang's hair. "Trade you for hour," she said, smiling at him. "Deal," he said, putting her hat on. "You guys look so stupid," I said, rolling my eyes at them, "they don't even match your outfits." Toph sighed and switched hats with Aang. "Better?" She asked, planting her hand on her hip. "Hey cutie!" We all looked over to find three teenage boys looking over at Toph. Aang grabbed Toph's hand and started pulling her towards the store, away from the three boys. We made it in the store. "Who was that?" Toph asked, walking slowly. I understood why she was walking slowly. If she walked fast, then her feet would slap the ground, causing a loud noise, and she didn't want anyone else except the Team to know about her 'special' shoes. Aang was still gripping onto her hand, not letting her go. "Um, Twinkle Toes," she said, "you're kind of squeezing my hand a little too tight." "Oh, sorry," Aang let go of Toph's hand and let his arm fall to his side. "Where are we going anyway? I've never been in this store before," Aang said, looking around. "Cover me," Toph said, lifting her foot up. I went in front of Toph, and Aang went behind her. Toph hit her foot on the ground, hard. If I were her, I would've fallen to the ground, clutching my foot, but Toph only shook her foot. "What did you see?" I asked. "I saw many halls. This place is huge." Toph said, hitting her heel on the ground, bad. A shockwave went through the tile floor and knocked down one of the aisles. "Walk, walk," Toph said, walking the opposite way. People gather around the broken aisle as we walked to the other side of the store. "Found it," I said, walking towards the I-pods. "Hello," the employee said, looking at the three of us, "how may I help you?" "I want an I-pod," Toph said, putting her hand on the counter, "one so simple to use that a blind person could use it." The guy looked at her like she was weird then shrugged. He came back later with an I-pod touch. "It's voice activated," he said, handing it to Toph, "that'll be one hundred and twenty five dollars." Toph took the money I gave her out of her pocket then handed it to me. "Count it, I can't," she whispered to me. I counted out the money and handed to the employee. "Oh," Toph said, stopping before leaving the counter, "I also want to buy a twenty five dollar I-tunes gist card." Toph gave him the rest of the money and walked out of the store, a satisfied look on her face. I looked over and saw the same boys at the same spot we left them. "Don't look now," I whispered to Aang, pointing at the three guys with my thumb, "but they're still there." Aang looked over and an angry look played across his face. "They better leave Toph alone," he said through clenched teeth. I doubt that would happen because they started walking over to us. So much as for a peaceful afternoon.

Chapter 97

Aang

Sometimes I'm glad that I'm not the Avatar. It would take a hundred years to block my chakras. Don't ask me why… I'm just like that.

The three guys walked over to us, slowly, like they had nowhere to be. "Hey," the lead one said, stopping when he reached us, "never seen you around here." Toph rolled her eyes at him, "probably because we just moved here." "So, what's your name?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling, "my names Brad. And this here," he said, pointing to his blonde friend, "is Oliver, and the red headed one is Jack." Brad took off his baseball cap and smoothed back his brown hair, then put it back on. "The names Tara," Toph said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at Brad, "and this here is my friend, Zack." She motioned over to Zuko. "And my boyfriend, Adam," she said, motioning to me. "Boyfriend, eh?" Brad said, looking over at me with disgust, "you could do better." "What's that supposed to mean?" I lashed out, taking a step towards him. Toph threw her arm out, hitting me in the chest. "Whoa, hold it T.T," she said, not saying my full nickname, "where's the fire?" Brad snickered, "what does T.T stand for? I thought your name was Adam." "It's his nick name," Toph said before I could even open my mouth. "What does it even stand for?" Brad asked, looking over at me. "It stands for none of your business," she said, sneering at him, "Now get away." Toph pushed Brad, making him fall onto the ground. "Someone's a little strong," Brad said, jumping off of the ground. "We have to go," Zuko said, pushing Toph towards the car. "What's the rush?" Brad asked, looking over at Oliver and Jack. "I've got practice," Toph called back to them, walking on her own now. "What sport you play? Soccer, softball, basketball?" Toph looked over at me, a playful look in her eye. "None of those," she said, turning around. "Dance, gymnastics?" "More like… the Air." Toph threw her hands out, pushing Brad and his friends to the ground. Brad looked stunned. "H-how did y-? Is t-that even…" "You know what," Toph said, tapping her finger on her chin, "I don't like Air anymore, I like Earth." She then drove her heel into the ground, sending a slab of Earth at Brad. It threw him in the air, sending him ten feet across the parking lot. "How is this even possible?!" Brad asked, standing up and running over to us, "I know! You're an evil witch!" "No, she's not," I said, stepping next to Toph's side. "How do you know?" "Because only girls can be witches," I said, throwing my hands out, "and I'm not a girl." I Air Bended an Air ball at him, knocking him to the floor. Toph turned over to look at Zuko, "You want to try Sparky?" "Go, go, go!" Zuko said, grabbing our arms and running towards the car. I turned around to see Brad running at us, full speed, with a broken bottle in his hand. "They're bewitched! They are evil!" "Get in the car, quick," Zuko said, shoving us in the car. He jumped in the driver's seat and started to back the car up. We made it out of the parking lot before Brad could even get to our car. Zuko stopped at a red light and turned to look at us. "You two are going to kill us all," he said. Then he smiled at us, "but that was hilarious." "Team Avatar!" Toph shouted, punching her fist in the air. She punched a hole in the top of the car with her Metal Bending (hopefully by accident). "Hey! Hey," Zuko said, turning back towards the road, "watch where you punch. Now fix that up with your bending!" "Alright, no need to nag me," Toph said, closing the hole up. I laughed and put my arm around her, "I missed you guys so much."

Chapter 98

Sokka

"You guys are nuts," I said, relaxing on the couch. My arm was around Suki. Toph, Aang, and Zuko were telling us about what happened at the store, and it was true, those two (Aang and Toph) were nuts. They let people know that they were benders, a big "no no" in our book. "It was fun Sokka. We didn't really cause any damage," Toph said, crossing her arms at me, "you used to like this. Now you're sounding like Sparky and Sugar Queen over here." He jabbed her thumb at Zuko and Katara, who were sitting next to each other. Katara opened her mouth as if to say something, but stopped, knowing the consequences. I rolled my eyes. "I' still fun! I can still pull a prank or two!" I said, giving her an evil look. Then I remembered that Toph was blind, so she could not see my evil look. I sighed, sat back against the couch again, and crossed my arms. "Key words: I can still pull A prank or TWO! You used to be able to pull off ten pranks in two days," Toph shot back at me, giving me an evil look. "Hey," I said, standing up, "you can't take my evil look! You copied off of me!" "You've got to be kidding me!" Toph stormed out of the room, stomping her feet on the ground. The floor started shaking, and we all had to grab on to something to keep from falling over. We heard her door slam shut, everyone turned to look at me. "Smooth," Aang said, giving me a face. He then ran after Toph. Suki turned to look at me, disappointment on her face. "Sokka, Toph's right. You were never like that. I know this from your past life, you used to love twisting the rules." I hung my head. "I don't know what came over me… I guess I was just upset that Aang and Toph were having more fun without me," I said quietly. "Oh, Sokka," Suki said, putting her arms around me, "you miss her, don't you?" I jumped away from her, "No! I have you now. And she has Aang. We're fine." I don't know who I was telling that too. Suki… or myself. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I was telling Suki that. I don't know why I thought I missed Toph! "I mean, if she was gone, like, gone gone, then I would miss her. But I still see her every day in the house, so I don't miss her. I'm over thinking this… I know I am. Ok, short version: I don't miss Toph being my girlfriend. I have Suki now, and she has Aang. Case closed. The end." I shook my head again, then smiled at her. "You were thinking out loud again Sokka," Suki said, smiling at me too. "Sorry to interrupt your smiling party," Zuko said, stepping in between us. I, of course, was on his bad side. I looked over at his scar and then turned away so that he didn't notice me looking at it. "But someone needs to go apologize to Toph." He turned to me, motioning with his head for me to go apologize to Toph. I took a deep breath and walked to the doorway. I stopped there, though. "I'm sorry Toph! Please don't squash me like a bug!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I turned around to see everyone looking at me funny. "What?" I asked, shrugging, "I wasn't going to walk down there and get squashed like a bug."

Chapter 99

Katara

"I hate to say this Katara," Toph said, shaking her head, "but can you help me with this?" She handed e her I-pod and hung her head. "It won't play music. T keeps saying, 'unlock.' Unlock what? I already paid for the music!" I took Toph's I-pod and laughed. "What's so funny Sugar Queen?" She asked, crossing her arms. "Your music isn't locked," I said, swiping my finger across the screen, "you're I-pod was. If it turns off, or goes on snooze, then it locked down. All you have to do is swipe your finger across the screen and bam! It's unlocked." I handed Toph her I-pod. She took her hat off and put on her big green and yellow headphones. They had the Earth Bender symbol on the side. Toph nodded at me and turned her music on and walked out of the room, humming along to the song. I sat back against the wall and sighed. "You know she's going to need help again." I looked up to see Aang in the doorway, his arms crossed. "I know, I just hope she gets it soon. If I know that girl right, she's going to want to listen to music in the middle of the night." "Sucks to be you," Aang said, sitting down on the couch. "Just for that remark, I think I'll send her down to your guy's room to unlock her I-pod at one in the morning," I said, smiling up at him. He stuck his tongue out at me. "You do that, and I'll call the Dai Lee so they can throw you in prison again." I gave him a face. "Really Aang," I said, pouting, "You are such a big meanie." We started cracking up then. Aang took a deep breath then cleared his throat, "you better not do that though. I'm dead serious." I turned to him, giving him a 'really?' look. "I'm not going to do that Aang. You know me better." "Eh," Aang said, shrugging. "Hey," I yelled. I stood up and walked over to him. I stood over him, my hands planted on my hips. "Oh no," he said sarcastically, "it's Katara! What are you going to do? Nag me to death?" I pushed him off the couch. He looked stunned. I smiled at him, "maybe I should nag you to death. Hey, wait! I don't nag that much!" Aang got up and smiled at me. "Yeah, right, you nag a normal amount," he said, turning around. "Catch you let Katara!" He ran out of the room, leaving me alone. "I'll see you at dinner!"

Chapter 100

Toph

"This is so gross, and I can't even see it!" I pushed my plate away from me, covering my nose to keep the stench away. "It's all we have left, now eat up," Zuko said. I could sense him hesitating before putting the food in his mouth. I heard Aang push his plate away. "I don't eat meat," he grumbled. "I think we should all go out to eat. I mean, we did save the world. We deserve better food than this junk," I said, motioning to my plate. "We have enough food to eat here," Zuko said again. "Um, no we don't Sparky. Even Sokka's not eating this gruel." I pointed over at Sokka. I didn't feel him eating any food, I don't even think he touched his plate! "And all we have is meat. I don't do meat," Aang said, pushing his plate away farther away from him. "Fine," Zuko said, standing, "but you're paying." "I don't have any money. So congrats Sparky, you're paying," I said, standing up. Zuko sighed and stood up after me. "Get up. Let's go." "Edible food, here we come!" Sokka shouted running out the door. I crossed my arms and turned in Zuko's direction. "Looks like I was right," I said, smirking.

I sat at the restaurant table, drumming my fingers along to the music. I smiled to myself and closed my eyes, getting lost in the music. I felt a sudden punch on my arm and I took my headphones off. "What was that for?" I asked, turning in my chair to face Aang. "That wasn't me," he said, turning me towards Zuko who was sitting on my other side, "it was Zuko." "What was that for?" "You were being to loud," Zuko said, taking my headphones away from me. I heard him pull something out of Mai's purse. "Wear this." He smoothed my hair down and placed my hat on my head. He didn't put it on backwards though. "You put it on wrong," I said, turning my hat around. "It's backwards now!" Zuko said, sounding astonished. "No, it's on correctly," I said, turning back towards Aang. "Sorry Twinkle Toes didn't mean to blame Sparky's actions on you," I said, smiling at him. "No problem." I don't know if he smiled back, but I think he did.

Chapter 101

Zuko

I look around our noisy table and let out a small smile. I was sitting in between Mai and Toph. Toph was messing around with Aang's hat, pulling it over his eyes and telling him that was what the world. He took his hat off and out it in his pocket. "So you can see everything?" He asked, smiling at her. Toph stuck her tongue out at him. "No, but I can see with my feet." She brought her soulless shoes up and placed her feet on his lap. Aang took a hold of Toph's feet and hit his hands against the souls. "What are you doing, Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked, pulling her feet away from Aang. "I'm hitting on your feet," he said, winking at her even though she couldn't see him. "Ha ha ha, very funny." Toph hit Aang on his arm and turned to her menu. "Read this out loud for me?"

I turned to look at Mai. She was playing around with the butter knife the waiter left us. She ran her fingers along the blade then threw it in the air a little and caught it with her forefinger and thumb. I looked over at Katara, Sokka, and Suki. Katara was next to Mai, and Sokka was in between Katara and Suki. He was talking to Suki and making odd hand motions. Katara blushed and looked over at him. She playfully tugged on his hair and told him to shut up. Suki laughed. I couldn't tell if it was from what Sokka was saying, r if it was from the sibling fighting like little kids. I moved my gaze to Smellerbee and Longshot. Smellerbee had her head on the table, banging her fist softly against the table. She then looked up and Longshot, a smile on her face. It was about five months after we lost Jet, and they were slowly calming down. Smellerbee was finally talking to Ty Lee, and Longshot would actually look at her. Smellerbee smoothed her hair back crossed her gray eye and Longshot. He smiled at her and rolled his eyes. "When are we going to eat?" Toph's impatient voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned to look at her. "We didn't even order yet Toph," Aang said, taking her hand, "and you still have no idea what you want!" Toph sighed. "Well you won't read the menu to me, so I can't order!" "I already read the menu to you," Aang said. Toph stared over at him blankly. "That was the menu? I thought you were just jabbering away about nonsense!" "Spirits," Aang said, slamming his palm onto his forehead, "I'll just order for you." "Let me guess, vegan choice?" Toph asked, squeezing Aang's hand. Aang winced at Toph's grasp, "yep." Toph let go of Aang's hand and traced her finger across her throat. "This will be your fate," Toph said, bending a little flame of fire onto her finger, "if it tastes bad." Aang looked over at me, his eyes wide. "I'm dead," he mouthed to me, grabbing the menu and looking at it. I laughed a little and turned to Mai. "What are you ordering?" I asked, taking the now sharp knife away from her. "Water and bread," she said. "Don't you want to eat more?" I asked, accidently cutting my hand with the knife. "Because food is gross. It makes you fat," Mai said, rolling her eyes. I looked down at her. She was basically skin and bones. "Why do you care about your weight?" "I don't. I'm just messing with you. I'm not hungry though," Mai said, giving me a tiny smile. "You know, I love it when you smile." I gave her a smirk, and she slapped me softly across the face. "I hate guys who act like that," she said, puckering her lips I together. She let them loose and they made a "pop" sound. I rolled my eyes at her, then smiled. "Then I won't ever do that again," I said, taking her hand. "You better not do that again." She punched me playfully on the arm right as our waiter came to our table. She looked down at us disapprovingly. "Where's your parent?" She asked, chewing nosily on her gum. "Um, he went to the… grocery store," Aang said, shrugging. "Why would your father go the grocery store and leave you alone?" The waiter asked, still chewing on her gum. I took a good look at our waitress. She had red hair that was streaked with blue. She had blue eyes and high cheekbones. She was skinny and looked flexible. She looked about eighteen. Her name tag told us that her name was Jessie. "It's none of you business," Toph said. Her arms were laid out on the table and her chin rested upon the backs of her hands. Jessie blew a bubble with her gum and popped it with her pen. "Why don't you say that to my face?" Toph stood up suddenly, knocking her chair to the ground. She turned to face Jessie. "You listen here missy," Toph said, jabbing her finger into Jessie's shoulder, "you just take our order. Put it in, bring us our food and check, and then let us leave. I want no funny business. You go that?" Jessie looked stunned. "Fine," Jessie said. Before she could turn away from the slightly smaller girl though, something stopped her. She turned around again and started straight into her eyes. "What's up with your eyes?" She asked, looking at them carefully. "Nothing, is there something wrong with them? I know there gray, but that's not bad," Toph said, shifting her weight from one foot to another, looking uncomfortable. "No, they're not gray," Jessie said, puckering her lips, "more like milky green. Are you blind?" Toph expression said it all. No one ever told her what her eye color really was. We all told her it they were gray because she only asked us once what her eye color was, and that was when she became blind. So, I guess it kind of stuck. Now, Toph knew her real eye color and knew that she really did look blind. "Yes," Toph said, surprisingly calm, "I am blind. Now get our order down now!" Toph sat down next to Aang, who had picked her chair back up while she was talking to Jessie. Toph crossed her arms and Jessie took our order, staring at Toph. She looked a little, uncomfortable. I guess she had never been around a blind person, or if she had, a blind person who acted like Toph. We were all silent for the rest of the meal. The only sound was the clinking of silverware against plates, or cups hitting the table.

After we left the restaurant, Toph turned to us, her back to the busy street. "Why didn't you tell me my eyes were milky green?" She asked, her finger running around her eye. "Guess we didn't want to freak you out. It also never came up," Sokka said, his arm around Suki. Toph sighed and pointed her eyes up at the sky. "I could have taken it. I'm strong like that, I can take anything!" "Yeah, but at the time you were still getting used to seeing with your feet," I said, walking over to her. "I don't care!" "Toph," Aang said, staying exactly where he was, "why are you getting so upset about this?" "It's because you lied to me," she said, tears running down her eyes, "and I couldn't pick up the lie." I stared down at Toph, feeling my heart grow heavy. Toph gave pride into her abilities, they were all she had. Toph couldn't watch TV, read a book, or even look at herself like the rest of us could. She was blind. Toph wasn't like everybody else, none of us where. But Toph was even different from the Team. She was the Avatar, the BLIND Avatar. She could only see with Earth Bending. That was her element. So when she used the other elements, she was fully blind. She had to trust on her other senses. So when Toph found out she couldn't pick us a lousy lie, she probably felt useless. That she was no use to anyone.


End file.
